Ollie Watkins, aged 28, expressed his unwavering belief in his ability to make a significant impact in England’s quest for Euro 2024 glory as the Three Lions gear up for Sunday’s final against Spain. Despite having played only 20 minutes across five games in Germany, Watkins came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner, securing a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the semi-final on Wednesday.
The Aston Villa striker’s only previous goal in a competitive international match was against San Marino in World Cup qualifying three years ago. Reflecting on his decisive low strike against the Dutch, Watkins told reporters on Friday, “It’s been an unbelievable feeling to be honest. I knew when I was going onto the pitch that I was going to score, you know, I manifested it. I had worked very hard to get to that point, so it’s been an amazing feeling, but I’m not shocked.”
Before this, Watkins had made just one appearance in the tournament, coming on as a late substitute in a 1-1 group stage draw against Denmark. Despite England’s offensive struggles, Watkins remained patient for his opportunity. Gareth Southgate’s team has won only two of their six matches at Euro 2024 in regular time, relying on late goals and comebacks in the knockout stages against Slovakia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
Watkins remains optimistic that England is peaking at the right time to face a formidable Spanish side, which has been dominant throughout the competition. “Obviously the early stages, the group stages, we weren’t playing our best football. It doesn’t take a genius to work that one out. Everyone knew, even in the base camp,” said Watkins. “The main thing is, we weren’t losing games, so we were unbeaten. Then progressively, as the tournament’s gone further on, we’re playing better football, we’re controlling games. Even if we’ve gone a goal behind, we don’t crumble. We’ve come back and shown the togetherness, that attitude, that everyone’s there as a team to work hard and pull together.”
Spain, under Luis de la Fuente, has had a remarkable journey to their first major final since their golden generation’s triumphs between 2008 and 2012, defeating Croatia, Italy, Germany, and France along the way. Young wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams have been particularly impressive, and Watkins identified them as key threats to England’s aspirations of becoming European champions for the first time.
“I feel like they have been probably the best team of the competition so far,” Watkins remarked. “Obviously, the wingers for Spain are very dynamic, young, full of confidence and direct, but also across our team we have goals from everywhere, world-class talent. It’s going to be a very exciting match. I can’t wait to watch it and be a part of it and hopefully we can get the job done.”
Source: ghmediahub
