DORTMUND: Substi­tu­­te Ollie Watkins scored a late winner as England reached a second consecutive European Champion­ships final with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the Netherlands on Wednesday.

England, who lost to Ita­ly in the final of the last edition, will face Spain in Sunday’s final after Wat­kins, who had replaced captain Harry Kane slotted in from inside the penalty area in the 90th minute.

In a lively start in Dort­mund, Xavi Simons caught Declan Rice in possession and unleashed a rocket from outside the box to give the Netherlands a seventh-minute lead.

But England were back in it 12 minutes later. Den­zel Dumfries was harshly adjudged to have fouled Kane inside the box and the striker stepped up to bury the resulting penalty past the goalkeeper.

Both sides hit the woodwork in the space of two minutes past the half hour mark; Dumfries heading against the bar from a corner and Phil Foden’s effort come off the post.

The tempo dropped in the second half but Wat­kins broke Dutch hearts at the death, turning Stephan de Vrij to meet a pass from Palmer to spark English celebrations.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2024