Ollie Watkins England's unlikely toast after Euro 2024's last-gasp winner

DORTMUND, Germany, July 11 (Agencies): Ollie Watkins is, in his own words, a realist.
He has never pictured himself playing at a major tournament for England - especially when, as a teenager learning his trade as a striker, he was sent on loan to English sixth-tier club Weston-super-Mare in 2015.
So imagine what went through Watkins' mind when he saw his stoppage-time shot fly past Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen and into the bottom corner to earn England a place in the European Championship final?
"I don't think I've hit a ball that sweet before," Watkins said after England's 2-1 victory over the Dutch in the semifinals on Wednesday.
Suddenly, Watkins is the toast of England, an improbable turnaround in fortunes for a striker who had played 24 minutes at Euro 2024 - as a substitute in the group stage against Denmark - before replacing captain Harry Kane in the 80th minute for the biggest moment of his career.
It's the first time in history that England has reached a major final on foreign soil and the team - as well as manager Gareth Southgate - now has the chance to atone for that heart-breaking defeat in the final to Italy three years ago.
Awaiting England in Monday's (as per BST) final is the formidable foe of Spain, which has been unequivocally the best team of Euro 2024 so far.
Being an understudy for Kane, England's all-time leading scorer with 66 goals, is a tough business. Minutes are scarce - Kane typically plays the full game - so every opportunity has to be grasped.
Watkins did just that with a goal that fans of the Premier League have seen time and again in his games playing for Aston Villa.
Darting behind the Dutch defense in a manner that is beyond Kane these days, Watkins controlled a pass from Cole Palmer with his back to goal then, in one movement, swiveled and fired a low shot through the legs of Netherlands defender Stefan De Vrij and past Verbruggen from a narrow angle.
"That's my bread and butter - running in behind, causing trouble," Watkins said.
If that sounds quite basic, then that's the kind of striker Watkins is hard-working, selfless.
Pretty much the ultimate team player.
"I've put in a lot of hard work to get to this point," said Watkins, who was tied as the fourth top scorer in the Premier League this season with 19 goals. "It's not just this season, it's cumulative.
"I've done a lot of hard work and I'm going to enjoy every moment."
That was evident as Watkins was engulfed by joyous teammates on the field at Westfalenstadion after his goal, his fourth for England. Two of them came against San Marino, the world's lowest-ranked team.
"It was slow motion when I was running to the boys and celebrating... I didn't want to leave the pitch," he said.
"I've had a few messages from my friends saying, 'Be patient, you're going to get an opportunity.' When I've been on the bench, I've definitely said to (backup goalkeeper) Dean Henderson, 'I can make a difference today, I need to get on that pitch.' Obviously I've taken my chance when I've got it and I've scored and now we're in the final."
Southgate smiled as he said Watkins had "saved us another half hour" of extra time, which England needed to get past Slovakia and Switzerland previously in the knockout stage.
"Very, very special for him," Southgate said.
After England's pedestrian path to the last four, they looked a different team on Wednesday, despite going behind to Simons' screamer into the top corner.
They levelled when Kane was caught by the studs of Denzel Dumfries as he shot, earning a VAR-reviewed penalty that the captain drilled into the bottom corner.
They were desperately close to a second when Phil Foden brilliantly skipped through a series of tackles only for his shot to be cleared off the line by Dumfries.
The Dutch centre back then thumped a header against the bar, only for a livewire Foden to respond again with a lovely, curling shot that hit the post.
England's fans, who had been bored into silence in their previous three games, were shocked by what they were seeing and responded to win the singing war despite being massively outnumbered by the massed ranks of orange shirts.
Foden, Jude Bellingham and BukayoSaka were playing with the swagger that they showed all season for their clubs while the incredible 19-year-old KobbieMainoo was running midfield like a veteran.
It was a scarcely believable transformation as the team who barely mustered a shot against Slovenia, Slovakia and Switzerland sent in crosses high and low, attempted probing through balls and even a couple of backheels in the box while forcing Bart Verbruggen into three sprawling saves.
The Dutch threw on striker WoutWeghorst for the second half while England brought on Luke Shaw but England seemed to lose their energy, playing deeper and more cautiously.
For fans who saw the same pattern in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia and Euro 2020 final against Italy, it was a worry, but this time coach Gareth Southgate took dramatic action by removing Foden and Kane, bringing on Watkins and Palmer after 80 minutes.
"We wanted to take that gamble in normal time rather than extra time," said Southgate, who had been criticised in earlier games for his reluctance to make changes.