England reach second Euros final in a row after beating the Netherlands

England have reached the final of the Euros for the second time in a row after beating the Netherlands 2 – 1 in Dortmund.

A last gasp goal from substitute Ollie Watkins secured victory for England in dramatic fashion minutes after Bukayo Saka had an effort ruled offside.

England will now face Spain in Sunday’s final in Berlin after their best performance of the tournament so far.

Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate will receive much of the praise after the winning goal was created and scored by two substitutes he brought on with around 10 minutes left to play.

Cole Palmer, who replaced Man City star Phil Foden, picked up the ball in midfield before slotting it to Watkins on the edge of the area.

Watkins took a touch before firing the ball into the bottom left corner of the Dutch goal.

England reach Euros final: As it happened

The Aston Villa striker quickly silenced any critics who may have had their doubts when he replaced captain Harry Kane as the game looked set to be going into extra time.

Asked about his decision to take off Kane at such a crucial moment, Southgate told a news conference after the match: “Harry took quite a big knock when he won the penalty so we weren’t sure how long he would be able to play on for.

“Him and Phil (Foden) were playing well, but we were losing a little bit of energy… Certainly we weren’t taking Phil off because of his performance, but we have got good players on the bench with freshness we felt could help us.

“And you know, we wanted to make that gamble in normal time rather than wait until extra time.”

‘It was a complicated game, they kept changing, we had to respond’, Southgate told reporters after England’s win against the Netherlands.

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