England had a secret weapon up their sleeve as they saw off the Netherlands to reach the Euro 2024 final
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted an amusing moment after England scored their injury-time winner against the Netherlands in Wednesday night’s Euro 2024 semi-final.
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate had a camera fixed on him in the closing stages as Ollie Watkins fired the ball home as the game ticked past the 90 minute mark to seal a second consecutive European Championship final appearance for England.
As you’d expect, there were scenes of jubilation from Southgate and his coaching staff - although one member of the backroom team cut his celebrations short after hugging the boss as he quickly composed himself.
VIDEO Why England FINALLY Came Good Against The Netherlands
That was former Dutch international Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who has played a key role in England’s run to the final - and in his own country’s exit from the competition.
The former Leeds United, Chelsea and Middlesbrough striker has been a familiar face for English fans since his arrival at Elland Road in 1997, having netted 127 Premier League goals, while he also went on to manage Burton Albion, Queens Park Rangers and Northampton Town.
Southgate moved to hire his former Boro teammate as a part of his England coaching team in March 2023 and the 52-year-old has played a significant part in the team’s progression to Sunday night’s final.
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Hasselbaink won 23 international caps for the Netherlands and was a part of their 1998 World Cup squad, where current Dutch boss Ronald Koeman was working as one of Guus Hiddink’s assistant coaches.
As well as being able to use his experience of being part of the Dutch camp to assist England’s preparations, Hasselbaink’s influence on the Three Lions squad has been clear over the past month.
Watch any compilation video of Hasselbaink’s best goals and it’s hard not to notice just how similar Watkins’ late winner was to one of the Dutchman’s trademark finishes, while the coach’s fingerprints were all over England’s penalty success against Switzerland in the quarter-final.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink during his Chelsea days (Image credit: Getty)
“Jimmy’s got a lot of experience in the game, he knows his stuff,” Phil Foden told BBC Radio 5 Live after the shootout win. “He’s been taking a few of us after training to practise penalties.
“I feel like, when I first came into the England side, we were maybe practising them too much and there wasn’t really [a coach] taking them. Now we have Jimmy for that reason: to only take a couple, not overdo it.
“Practise your spot where you put it and stick with it. There’s a lot of work that goes into it off the field.”
Jude Bellingham has spoken about Hasselbaink's influence (Image credit: Getty Images)
These thoughts were echoed by Jude Bellingham, who also netted in the Swiss shootout win.
“I was really confident in my preparation and the things I’d talked through with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink,” said the Real Madrid man. “He’s stepped up for us massively and it’s the work he does behind closed doors with the lads willing to take on that information that put us in those situations to be able to win.”
After his brief moment of celebration at seeing his national dumped out of the competition, Hasselbaink will now be hard at work preparing for Sunday’s final and the opportunity to fully savour a win.
For more than a decade Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor, with stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others. He is the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team.
