England’s history-making hero Ollie Watkins has described his disbelief after a “special moment” he couldn’t have imagined earlier in his career.
Watkins scored a superb last-minute strike against the Netherlands to send England into their first major final abroad, firing low from an angle and sparking fire in Dortmund and beyond cheered. The Aston Villa striker explained that such a scenario was a distant prospect when he was a youngster at Exeter, but revealed that he and fellow substitute Cole Palmer had It is predicted that they will join forces to win.
“I told Cole, we’re all going to go out there and he’s going to pass me the ball at halftime,” Watkins said, pointing to the pass from Palmer that set up his chance. “I showed that and as soon as he turned around I knew I needed to make a move. You don’t get opportunities like this very often so I had to be greedy and I had to take it. I don’t think I’ve ever fought so well before ball. Obviously this is a special moment as well.
Watkins’ biggest sentiment was recalling how he had little thought of breaking the boundaries with England when he was competing for a first-team spot in League Two and was loaned to National League South club Weston-Super-Mare in the 2014-15 season.
“I never thought I would be playing for England at the European Championships,” he said. “Obviously you can dream but I’m a realist. I’m just focused on getting back into the first team at Exeter. I’ve worked hard to get to this point and I’m going to enjoy every moment. I can’t lie to you and say I’ve been Dreaming about it. Obviously, scoring a goal for England is amazing, but I didn’t think I’d be able to do it in a game like this.
Watkins scored 27 goals for Villa last season, helping the team secure a Champions League spot. But at international level he has been second-choice behind Harry Kane and before Wednesday’s intervention he had made just one substitute appearance against Denmark in Germany’s group stage. This time he replaced Kane, who scored a penalty with nine minutes left in the second half but struggled in the second half and brushed off disappointment in his role.
“To be honest, I’ve been a little depressed lately,” he said. “I don’t like being on the bench, I’ve had the best season of my career. I’ve had messages from some friends: ‘Be patient, you’ll get a chance. “They feel I played a big role in the tournament. I had a lot of people message me today saying I was going to score when I came on tonight, which is ridiculous. Hopefully they can do the same in the final and even give My lottery number.
Gareth Southgate has praised Watkins’ huge impact and paid tribute to his attitude. “Oli’s performance saved us another half an hour, which was very, very special for him and I’m delighted for him,” the manager said. “[He]Training like this every day, he is ready for his moment and the whole team is ready.
England’s coaching staff must now devise a plan to beat Spain, who were able to enjoy a day of relative rest after beating France on Tuesday. Still, Southgate allowed himself briefly to enjoy their achievement.
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“We’ve had some incredible nights over the last seven or eight years,” he said. “The only reason I do this job is to try and bring success to the country of England. I’m extremely proud to have led the team to our first overseas final. But we go into the final to win; we’re against the best teams in the tournament Competition, one less day of preparation time.
Southgate said it was too early to tell whether Kieran Trippier, who was replaced by Luke Shaw at half-time with a groin problem, would be available for Sunday’s final in Berlin. He also said Kane took a “pretty big hit” in his collision with Denzel Dumfries, with England awarded a controversial penalty after a VAR review and a chance to equalize against Harvey Simon A wonderful first goal from Sri Lanka.
The Netherlands were furious with referee Felix Zwayer’s final decision. “As a defender, what do you do?” their manager Ronald Koeman asked about the incident, in which Dumfries appeared to try to stop Kane’s shot. “It wasn’t a penalty. Dumfries wanted to block the ball. Then the shoes collided. VAR decisions like this ruin football.
Captain Virgil van Dijk made little attempt to hide similar sentiments. “The referee ran back onto the pitch immediately after the final whistle, which says a lot,” he said. “I didn’t have time to shake his hand. But that’s what happened, the game was over, we lost, and there were moments when it was clear they should have gone our way, but regardless of the result, they didn’t.
