Watkins ‘not shocked’ to become England hero

Ollie Watkins says he has never lost faith in his ability to be instrumental in England’s bid for Euro 2024 glory as the Three Lions prepare for Sunday’s final against Spain. Watkins had played just 20 minutes in five games in Germany before coming off the bench to score the winner in added time to beat the Netherlands 2-1 in England’s semi-final on Wednesday. The Aston Villa forward’s only previous goal in a competitive international match came against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier three years ago. “It’s an incredible feeling to be honest,” Watkins told reporters on Friday of his superb low strike against the Dutch. “I knew when I went on the pitch I was going to score, you know, I showed it. I had worked really hard to get to that point so it was an incredible feeling but I’m not shocked.” Watkins’ only previous appearance at the tournament was as a late substitute in a 1-1 draw with Denmark in the group stages. He had to be patient for his chance despite England’s struggles to get going in attack. Gareth Southgate’s men have won just two of their six games at Euro 2024 inside 90 minutes and have needed late goals and comebacks in each of the last three rounds to overcome Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands. However, Watkins will be hoping England can get back on the boil in time to face a Spain side who have been in a class of their own in the competition so far. “Obviously the early stages, the group stages, we weren’t playing our best football. It doesn’t take a genius to work that out. Everyone knew it, even in the base camp,” Watkins added. “The main thing was that we weren’t losing games, so we were unbeaten. “We came through and we took control of the game. Even though we were a goal down, we didn’t fall apart. We came back and showed that we were together, that we were all here to work hard and pull together.” Spain’s serene progress to their first major final since the golden generation won three tournaments in a row between 2008 and 2012 is all the more impressive given that they had to come through the toughest side of the draw. Luis de la Fuente’s men beat Croatia, Italy, Germany and France en route to Berlin. Young wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have caught the eye and Watkins has singled them out as the main threat to England’s hopes of becoming European champions for the first time. “I feel like they’ve probably been the best team in the competition so far,” he said. “Obviously the Spanish wingers are very dynamic, young, confident and direct, but in our team too we’ve got goals from everywhere. “It’s going to be a very exciting game. I’m looking forward to watching it and being involved in it. Hopefully we can get the job done.”