Watkins ‘not shocked’ to become England’s Euro hero

BERLIN, Germany: Ollie Watkins said he has never lost confidence in his ability to be decisive in England’s quest 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 winning goal in added time to beat the Netherlands 2-1 in England’s semi-final on Wednesday.

The Aston Villa forward’s only goal in a competitive international match came three years ago, against San Marino in a World Cup qualifier. “It’s an incredible feeling, to be honest,” Watkins told reporters on Friday of his stunning low strike against the Netherlands.

“I knew as soon as I stepped on the field that I was going to score, you know, I showed it. I worked really hard to get to this point, so it’s an incredible feeling, but I’m not shocked.”

Watkins’ only appearance in the tournament came at the end of the group stage, as a substitute in a 1-1 draw with Denmark. He had to be patient to take advantage of that opportunity despite England’s struggles to get going in attack.

Gareth Southgate’s men have won just two of their six Euro 2024 games inside 90 minutes and have needed late goals and comebacks in each of the last three rounds to beat Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Watkins will nevertheless be hopeful that England will be ready to face a Spain side who have been a distant second in the competition so far. “Obviously in the early rounds, in the group stages, we didn’t play our best football. You don’t have to be a genius to see that. Everyone knew that, even at the base camp,” Watkins added.

“The most important thing is that we haven’t lost a game, so we’re undefeated. Then, as the tournament goes on, we play better football, we control the games. Even if we’re a goal down, we don’t collapse. We came back and showed our cohesion, that attitude, that everyone is here as a team to work hard and stick together.”

Spain’s serene progress to their first major final since a golden generation won three consecutive tournaments between 2008 and 2012 is all the more impressive given that they have had to come through the tougher 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.