“Joker” Ollie Watkins lets England dream of the title

Just like three years ago, England’s national football team is in the EURO final. The “Three Lions” prevailed against the Netherlands 2-1 (1-1) in front of 60,926 witnesses in Dortmund thanks to a stroke of genius from substitute striker Ollie Watkins in the 90th minute, thus saving themselves the showdown against Spain on Sunday (9 p.m., Servus TV) in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. After the bitter defeat in the penalty shootout against Italy in 2021 at Wembley, will there be a happy ending this time?

Everything seems possible, the quality of the 1.52 billion Euro squad is enormous, the clear improvement in performance is fueling confidence. Anyone who expected a feeling-out in the semifinals due to the previously notorious passivity of the British was disappointed.

Overcoming early deficit

It was an entertaining game, and Gareth Southgate’s team certainly left their mark on it, despite the fact that the “Oranje” had made a dream start. Xavi Simons – not exactly national coach Ronald Koeman’s favourite pupil, as he occasionally lost his tactical role – stole the ball from Declan Rice, took aim and surprised goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with a long-range shot – 0:1 (7′). That’s definitely worth saving.

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