Netherlands celebration ´a promise´ to England substitutes, says Watkins

Ollie Watkins revealed that his celebration in England’s semi-final victory over the Netherlands was dedicated to both Lewis Dunk and Dean Henderson.

Watkins scored late to book England’s place in the Euro 2024 final against Spain on Sunday as the Three Lions came back from Xavi Simons’ opener.

Harry Kane had levelled the scores from the penalty spot having been caught by Denzel Dumfries inside the box.

The Aston Villa striker netted only the second ever 90th-minute winning goal in a European Championship knockout tie, sparking wild scenes in Dortmund.

Watkins raced away after squeezing the ball beyond Bart Verbruggen, running towards the England bench to celebrate his fourth and most important international goal.

Both Dunk and Henderson, who have yet to play a single minute in Germany, were among the first to embrace Watkins.

“I did make a promise to Deano and Dunky that, if I scored, I would run over and celebrate with them,” Watkins said on the latest episode of the Lions’ Den.

“Sometimes you can feel a little bit left out because you’re not on the pitch making that impact.

“So me celebrating with them, obviously I’ve been on sitting on the bench experiencing that and I just wanted to make it special for everyone.

“It was nice that they all jumped on the pitch and could be a part of it.”

A moment you are going to see again and again and again.

Ollie Watkins, you absolute HERO! pic.twitter.com/pkdvUz00LC

— England (@England) July 10, 2024

Watkins’ strike saw him become England’s newly crowned hero on the international stage, but fellow substitute Cole Palmer also played an important part in the winner.

The pair were introduced in the 80th minute and made an almost instant impact.

Palmer’s assist for Watkins was the first time two substitutes have combined for a goal for England in the knockout stages of a major tournament.

The Chelsea midfielder said that he predicted the impact he and Watkins would have on proceedings having worked closely together in training.

“We were playing together at half-time, just passing to each other, and (Watkins) said to me we’re going to come on, and I’m going to set him up and he’s going to score – and when it happened, it was mad,” said Palmer, who sat alongside Watkins on Thursday’s show.

Palmer had seen first-hand the finishing ability of the Aston Villa striker and knew he would come good at the pivotal moment.

“You’ve got to have that belief when you’re going on the pitch to that you’re going to bring something to the team, bring some energy, and for me, when I’ve got the ball there, I knew I had to be selfish and shoot because I may not get another opportunity,” Watkins said.