England head coach Gareth Southgate was greatly impressed by his side’s performance in their “very special” 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in Wednesday’s semi-final at the BVB Stadion Dortmund, Soccernet.football reports.
The Three Lions secured a final showdown with Spain, who defeated France by the same scoreline in the other semi-final, after edging out the Oranje thanks to Ollie Watkins’ last-minute winner in Dortmund.
The Aston Villa forward came off the bench to replace Harry Kane, who had equalized with a penalty following Xavi Simons’ early goal, and scored in the 90th minute to turn the game on its head and give England a much deserved lead.
“This has to be the best [achievement],” Southgate told ITV Sport. “Very special night and, hopefully, very special for everyone at home. I thought our performance was really good.
“It was a complicated game, they kept changing, we had to respond. We caused them problems all night, and the end is so special for the squad.
“You knew with the Netherlands, they have more quality, so they can punish you like they did, but there’s more opportunity to play.
“The most important thing is that the whole squad are ready to come into the game. We spend a lot of time with [the substitutes], and I’m so chuffed for Ollie.
“We felt, energy wise, we were starting to lose some pressure [in the second half]. Ollie can press well and make those runs in behind. We thought it was a good moment to try him.
“We deserved to win tonight. We were very fluid in our formation, it wasn’t just a back three, we had to adapt all the time and the players made so many good decisions.
“This is what we came here to do, and we have been building for two years. We have got to enjoy tonight, but equally, it is such a quick turnaround and we have a day less [to prepare] than the team who have been the best at the tournament.”
The Three Lions were Euro 2020 finalists but suffered a penalty shootout heartbreak against Italy at Wembley. They now have the opportunity to go one better and potentially end their 58-year wait for a major tournament silverware.
Is it finally coming home?