Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score a 91st-minute winner as England set up a Euro 2024 final against Spain
(Image credit: Getty Images)
England’s Euro 2024 semi-final match-winner Ollie Watkins has revealed that he had a pre-match premonition that he and Cole Palmer would come off the bench to combine for a goal.
The Three Lions’ latest late show saw the Aston Villa striker brought on for Harry Kane alongside Cole Palmer who replaced Phil Foden on 81 minutes with the match finely poised at 1-1.
As they have in each of their knockout matches in Germany, England fell behind, this time to a seventh-minute Xavi Simons screamer, before Kane slotted home a controversial penalty with 18 minutes on the clock.
VIDEO Why Cody Gakpo's A Huge Problem For England
With time ticking on and tension increasing after the break, Southgate’s double change ultimately proved to be the deciding factor, when the two replacements combined as the clock ticked past the 90-minute mark. Palmer slipped a ball into Watkins, who turned with one touch and found the far corner with the next.
The goal sealed a 2-1 victory and sent England into Sunday’s final against Spain, with Watkins revealing that he knew it would play out like this.
“I swear on my life, my kids’ lives, I said to Cole Palmer ‘we’re coming on today and you’re going to set me up’’, and that’s why I was so happy with Coley,” the Aston Villa forward told ITV. “I knew as soon as he got the ball he was going to play me. You’ve got to be greedy. Touch and finish. When I saw it go in the bottom corner, it was the best feeling ever.”
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
🗣️ 'I said to Cole Palmer, "We're coming on today and you're going to set me up." 🔮Ollie called it.#Euro2024 | #NEDENG | 🎙️ @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/ywUXkXctTdJuly 10, 2024
Watkins had made just one 20-minute cameo off the bench in the group stage so far at the tournament but insisted that he was always ready to grasp any potential opportunity,
“I know, unbelievable,” he added. “I’ve been waiting for that moment for weeks, for weeks. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get where I am today. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands and I’m delighted. Delighted.”
The 28-year-old also saluted his side’s never-say-die attitude which has seen them progress to the final despite not holding a 90th-minute lead in any of their three knockout matches.
“We’ve got that kind of bounce-back factor,” he continued. “Going a goal behind, but it seems to kick us into gear and we never give up and we’ve won on penalties, we’ve come from behind. One more game now.”
That game will be the third final in England history and the first on foreign soil as the Three Lions head to Berlin to face Spain.
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.
