Ollie Watkins sends Three Lions to Euro 2024 final with fabulous late finish

Ollie Watkins became England’s man of the hour in Dortmund, biding his time on the bench before delivering a lethal strike to seal a 2-1 win over the Netherlands and send the Three Lions to the Euro 2024 final.

Watkins had only previously played 20 minutes in the tournament, but was called upon with 10 remaining after Gareth Southgate’s side’s early spark had blown out and they were drifting towards extra-time for the third game in a row. But the Aston Villa striker, receiving a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer, took one touch before swivelling and firing in off the post, sending England into a second consecutive Euros final, where they will face Spain on Sunday.

England had produced their best 45 minutes in Germany, hemming the Dutch into their own final third for large parts of the first half. But they only had a 1-1 scoreline to show for it and their goal was thanks to a generous penalty award from VAR.