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Southgate hails ‘resilience, character’ as England advance to Euro 2024 final after Netherlands nailbiter

Ollie Watkins of England scores his team's second goal past Bart Verbruggen of the Netherlands during the UEFA EURO 2024 semi-final match between Netherlands and England at Football Stadium Dortmund on July 10, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

By Reuters

11 Jul 2024

England and Spain will contest the 2024 European Championship final in Berlin on Sunday.

England’s last-gasp victory over Netherlands in their Euro 2024 semifinal showed their character and resilience and the team are ready to take the final step and lift their first major trophy in almost 60 years, manager Gareth Southgate said.

Substitute Ollie Watkins scored in the 91st minute to send England through to their second successive European Championship final with a 2-1 win.

Their overall performance was an emphatic answer to the criticism heaped on his side for some earlier languid showings.

“We all want to be loved, right?” Southgate told a press conference.

“When you are doing something for your country and you are a proud Englishman, when all you read is criticism it is hard. To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special.

“We have given people some amazing nights, some of the best nights in 50 years.”

Jude Bellingham of England fouls Stefan de Vrij of the Netherlands, which results in a yellow card for Bellingham, during the Euro 2024 semifinal on 10 July 2024. (Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)

England Harry Kane of England competes for a header while under pressure from Stefan de Vrij of the Netherlands. (Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)

Southgate, who took over in 2016, has now led them to at least the quarterfinals in the past four major tournaments, the only European side to achieve this feat.

They lost to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final but now have the chance to go one better against Spain in Sunday’s showcase in Berlin.

“It shows the more modern England way but also the resilience and character of the group. Ollie Watkins has trained like that every day. He has trained for his moment no matter how frustrated.

“They had each other’s backs, they bonded so well, and tonight it was an example of that.”

England needed penalties to overcome Switzerland in the last eight before the late winner on Wednesday, and Southgate said his team had learnt from knockout matches since the 2018 World Cup in Russia where they lost in the semifinals to Croatia.

“We are more calm going into the knockout games. In Russia we had not won a knockout game in 10 years,” Southgate said.

“To be able to take the team to the first final overseas, I am immensely proud of that,” he said.

England won the 1966 World Cup on home soil while the Euro 2020 final was also played at Wembley.

They will now face the form team of the tournament, Spain, who have won all their matches in Germany.

Virgil van Dijk of the Netherlands, challanged by Kyle Walker of England, has a shot which is saved by Jordan Pickford of England. (Photo: Richard Pelham / Getty Images)

England coach Gareth Southgate gives instructions during the Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands. (Photo: Alex Livesey / Getty Images)

“We will have to get the ball off them first,” Southgate said of their next opponents. “It is not as simple as us having the ball and making them run. We have to be exceptional with the ball and without it. They have been the best team.

“We are starting to show a better version of ourselves,” he said, adding that they had one less day than Spain, who beat France on Tuesday in their semifinal, to prepare.

“But we are in there with what we have shown to this point. We have as good a chance as they do. We have come here to win it. It is a huge task but we are still here and fighting.”

Late winner

With the match looking set for extra time, Watkins received a pass from fellow substitute Cole Palmer and fired a sweet strike into the far corner.

Xavi Simons had brilliantly put the Dutch ahead after seven minutes, with England equalising 11 minutes later through a Harry Kane penalty.

Chances came and went in an all-action first half, but things settled in the second before the late drama that sent England through to the final.

Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands heads a shot under pressure from Jude Bellingham of England, which hits the crossbar. (Photo: Dan Mullan / Getty Images)

England coach Gareth Southgate celebrates after the team's victory in the Euro 2024 semifinal. (Photo: Stu Forster / Getty Images)

“History made – amazing achievement,” said Kane as England reached their first major final on foreign soil.

“We talk about being ready – you might get five minutes, one minute, but you can make a difference, you can win a tournament, and Ollie’s been patient, and what he did out there was outstanding.”

It was a goal to savour for Watkins, who has played only 30 minutes in two appearances in Germany.

“I’ve been waiting for that moment for weeks, I’m delighted,” he said. “I swear on my life that I said to Cole Palmer that he’s going to set me up today and I’m going to score. It’s the best feeling ever.”

Different team

After England’s pedestrian path to the last four, they looked a different team on Wednesday, despite going behind to Simons’s screamer into the top corner.

They levelled when Kane was caught by the studs of Denzel Dumfries as he shot, earning a VAR-reviewed penalty that the captain drilled into the bottom corner.

They were desperately close to a second when Phil Foden brilliantly skipped through a series of tackles only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Dumfries.

The Dutch centre back then thumped a header against the bar, only for a livewire Foden to respond again with a lovely, curling shot that hit the post.

England’s fans, who had been bored into silence in their previous three games, were shocked by what they were seeing and responded to win the singing war despite being massively outnumbered by the massed ranks of orange shirts.

Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka were playing with the swagger that they showed all season for their clubs, while the incredible 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo was running midfield like a veteran.

It was a scarcely believable transformation as the team who barely mustered a shot against Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland sent in crosses high and low, attempted probing through-balls and even a couple of backheels in the box while forcing Bart Verbruggen into three sprawling saves.

Ollie Watkins of England scores his team's second goal, despite pressure from Stefan de Vrij of the Netherlands. (Photo: Alex Livesey / Getty Images)

Ollie Watkins's shot rips past Dutch keeper Bart Verbruggen. (Photo: Alex Grimm / Getty Images)

The Dutch threw on striker Wout Weghorst for the second half while England brought on Luke Shaw, but England seemed to lose their energy, playing deeper and more cautiously.

For fans who saw the same pattern in the 2018 World Cup semifinal against Croatia and Euro 2020 final against Italy, it was a worry, but this time Southgate took dramatic action by removing Foden and Kane, and bringing on Watkins and Palmer after 80 minutes.

“We wanted to take that gamble in normal time rather than extra time,” said Southgate, who had been criticised in earlier games for his reluctance to make changes.

Palmer, who has looked dangerous every time he has come on in the tournament, duly threaded a trademark pass into the path of Watkins to cue bedlam as England came from behind to win for the third successive match.

“It’s another landmark for the way that we played throughout the game,” said Southgate. “The opponent gave us a little bit more space – in the early games we didn’t have any space to play.

“Tonight we didn’t deserve to be behind. I thought our performance with the ball was exceptional. We caused a lot of problems.

“We have given people some amazing nights but we are not finished.”

It was heartbreak for the Dutch, who have now lost four semifinals since winning the title in 1988 and were hoping to make the final despite finishing third in their group.

“My feeling was the last 20 to 25 minutes our team was a little more fresh than England but they scored a great goal and that’s football sometimes,” said their coach, Ronald Koeman

“I won’t say it was unlucky because it was a great goal and we can be really proud of our national team, we had a great tournament.” Reuters/DM

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