• Ollie Watkins' 90th-minute winner sent England into Euro 2024 final
  • Xavi Simons scored early opener to give Dutch lead
  • Harry Kane equalised from the spot amid excellent first half performance

A stunning Ollie Watkins finish at the last sent England into the Euro 2024 final as they downed the Netherlands 2-1 in Dortmund on Wednesday.

Watkins, who came on for Harry Kane in the second half, scored a trademark goal across the goalkeeper to send the Three Lions into their second consecutive European Championship final.

England had fallen behind early on, but a quick response ensued and they were excellent in the first half. However, Dutch changes stifled them after the break and the contest seemed destined for extra time before Watkins struck.

Who said Gareth Southgate couldn't change a game of football?

How the game unfolded

The atmosphere between the two sets of supporters on the streets of Dortmund was cordial but raucous, and neither the Oranje or Three Lions contingent had time to settle down inside Signal Iduna Park before the deadlock was broken in Wednesday's semi-final.

Xavi Simons, who's endured a fairly frustrating tournament up until this point, burst into life in the opening exchanges by pouncing on Declan Rice outside the England box, making the most of a static Kyle Walker, and thundering his first goal of Euro 2024 beyond Jordan Pickford.

Southgate's England have grown used to playing from behind in Germany, however, and, as was the case against the Swiss on Saturday, they quickly responded. Although, VAR intervention following Denzel Dumfries challenge on Harry Kane didn't seem necessary.

Nevertheless, Kane took full advantage of the decision and crashed home a perfect penalty past Bart Verbruggen to restore parity inside 20 minutes.

Buoyed by their swift response, the Three Lions asserted total control over their opponents for the remainder of the first half. They were dominant in the middle of the park, and for the first time all tournament, their attacking stars were relentlessly carrying and creating from between the lines with plenty of momentum.

Phil Foden was majestic from an inside right position, while Kobbie Mainoo suffocated the Oranje with his energy and duel-winning. England were excellent, and Foden went close on multiple occasions. The Manchester City star had an effort cleared off the line by Dumfries and was then denied a Lamine Yamal-style stunner by the outside of the post.

Such was England's dominance that when Memphis Depay succumbed to a knock with ten minutes of the first-half remaining, Koeman opted to replace him with midfielder Joey Veerman as opposed to Wout Weghorst. He had to find ways of taming England's creators.

Both managers rolled the dice at half-time, with Weghorst making his entrance, and Koeman's changes were successful in limiting England in central areas, forcing them to be more precise when accessing the likes of Foden.

For the first time since Simons' goal, the Netherlands found themselves on top on the hour mark and started to pose a threat from set-pieces. England's play had grown stale, and many were pleading for another injection of pace.

Southgate did make changes, and it was one of his two susbtitutes, Cole Palmer and Watkins, that combined in the last minute of the 90 to send England into the final on Sunday.