SUPER-SUB Ollie Watkins put England into their first ever major final on foreign soil with a belting late finish.
The Aston Villa man thundered in a brilliant strike on the turn to set up Sunday’s clash with Spain in Berlin.
England had a nightmare start when Xavi Simons rattled in a stunner with just seven minutes on the clock.
But Gareth Southgate’s side responded by playing their best football of the tournament by a country mile.
They perhaps got a little lucky with the penalty that got them back into it, as VAR alerted ref Felix Zwayer to Denzel Dumfries catching Harry Kane’s foot after the England captain had fired a shot over.
Zwayer went to his monitor and awarded the spot-kick, which Kane buried.
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Phil Foden then crashed the post with a wonderstrike and had a shot cleared off the line by Dumfries, who also headed against the crossbar.
The game looked to getting away from England but then Watkins buried a pass from fellow sub Cole Palmer to make history.
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Jordan Pickford – 7
Bigger goalkeepers may have got a stronger hand to Xavi Simons’ early stunner – though that was being hypercritical. Solid stop to deny Virgil van Dijk after the hour.
Kyle Walker – 7
Looked re-energised after some lumbering displays and bombed on at times in the first half, despite his role on the right of a back three. Last-ditch tackle on Cody Gakpo was spot on.
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John Stones – 7
Strong in possession. He looks to have benefited from regular game-time after rarely featuring for Manchester City in the last few months.
Marc Guehi – 6
Came back into the side after suspension ruled him out of the Switzerland game.
Had an unenviable task of making the big man Wout Weghorst after the break.
Kieran Trippier – 6
We all know by now that he is playing out of position, so again he was limited going forward and reliable defensively. Subbed at half-time for the more natural Shaw.
Declan Rice – 6
Lost possession for Simons’ thunderous opener but grew into the game, mopping up where necessary. Poor pass when Kane was open midway through the second half.
Kobbie Mainoo – 8
Was England’s youngest-ever player to play in a major-tournament semi-final, aged 19years 82 days, and had a stormer in the first half.
Great bursts forward, vital tackles, and his interplay with Foden was a joy.
Bukayo Saka – 7
Razor-sharp in the first half, winning tackles, making runs and dribbling the ball proficiently.
Less of an impact after the break, had a goal ruled out for offside and was booked.
Jude Bellingham – 5
Back at the ground where he made his name but struggled to make much of an impact on his old stomping ground. Fortunate it was not he that was subbed.
Phil Foden – 7
The first 45 minutes was by far and away his best half of the tournament.
Thought he’d scored when his shot was cleared off the line by Denzel Dumfries, and cracked the post with a cracker. But was then surprisingly subbed.
Harry Kane – 6
Won and dispatched the penalty to go joint top-scorer in the tournament with three goals.
Had looked more mobile initially but still tired badly after the break and was taken off.
Subs
Luke Shaw (on for Trippier half-time) – 6
Looked assured for a man who has been out for so long.
Ollie Watkins (on for Kane 80 mins) – 9
Surprisingly given the nod over Ivan Toney as striker sub as Southgate looked for more pace in behind.
Brilliant finish into the corner to win the game – you could not ask more from him.
Cole Palmer (on for Foden 80 mins) – 7
Had his big chance in the final minutes but shanked it horribly wide – but then fed Watkins for his wonderful winner.
Ezri Kona (on for Saka 91 mins) –
N/A
Conor Gallagher (on for Mainoo 91 mins) –
N/A
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Gareth Southgate: 8
His switch to a back three against Switzerland helped dig out the win there, and here it had his team finally playing some great football in the first half.
The team went into their shells again as the game wore on and you feared the worst – but you have to say his decision to bring on Ollie Watkins was a masterstroke.
Kobbie Mainoo: From work experience kid to England hero… and latest generational talent
By Charlie Wyett
AND we all thought England had just the one generational talent.
Kobbie Mainoo was effectively brought to Germany as a work experience kid but has emerged as the key kid behind this country’s attempt to rewrite history.
After just five senior starts, England’s new boy wonder will now have a teenage tear-up against Spain’s Lamine Yamal in the Euro 2024 final.
Last night, he did not merely become England’s youngest ever player to feature in a semi-final of a major tournament, aged 19 years and 82 days.
Here, he took this semi-final by the scruff of the neck, delivered a performance which was a joy to watch, particularly in the first half, and now England are in their first final on foreign soil.
If Jude Bellingham thought he was certain to be England’s main posterboy over the next decade, he has someone else who has now emerged in his rear-view mirror within just a few weeks.
To bag an FA Cup winners’ medal at the age of 19 was impressive. To then win Euro 2024 a couple of months later would be extraordinary.
As we saw with Manchester United, Mainoo has now fitted seamlessly into the team and provided a perfect mix of both style and substance.
Give it a couple of years, and you can only imagine how good this lad is going to be.
For much of this tournament, the focus has been on the disappointing form of Harry Kane, Bellingham and Phil Foden.
So Mainoo, to a degree, had almost been off the radar. But against the Dutch, in tight, congested spaces, he is a class apart.
When he was put under pressure, remained cool, navigated his way out of difficult situations and drove forward.
Despite what was at stake, Mainoo once again looked extraordinarily composed and was England’s best player in the first half. He won possession, he rode tackles and he drove forward like an old master.
He nearly delivered an assist at 1-1 with some brilliant play. He received the ball from Foden, turned and drove forward before returning the ball to his team-mate but the shot was hacked off the line by Denzel Dumfries.
Mainoo delivered a terrific block to snuff out some serious danger in a lightning-quick Dutch counter attack.
In the second half, he had less space in midfield but nevertheless still had bags of energy and kept his discipline positionally – and then he let subs Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins deliver the business.
It is still mind-boggling that Mainoo is now heading to Berlin on Sunday, when you consider Mainoo only made his United debut against Charlton in the Carabao Cup in January 2023. His first Premier League start was just eight months ago.
Yet it was his dazzling midfield form in an otherwise dysfunctional United team which earned him his first cap as a substitute against Brazil in March. He was then Man of the Match in a ridiculously-good performance in the 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Mainoo’s form dipped in the last few weeks of the season. It was probably because he was knackered carrying some of his team-mates.
But he then saved them again in the FA Cup final against Manchester City with a Man of the Match performance in a 2-1 win.
A bit like Adam Wharton, he was part of England’s 26-man squad to soak up the experience, to learn what it is like to feature in a major tournament and maybe, if needed, to have a few cameo roles off the bench.
And the fact he was effectively Southgate’s third-choice to partner Declan Rice here in Germany tells you exactly where he stood in a squad of 26.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield failed in the two opening games against Serbia and Denmark. Conor Gallagher – despite some bright performances as a sub in those games – really struggled in his start against Slovenia.
Apart from a strong appearance as a substitute by Palmer, Mainoo’s performance against Slovakia was the only bright spot in a dismal and extremely fortunate win over Slovakia in the last 16.
There was always a worry about Mainoo’s movement when England do not have possession but that will come with experience, like it would for any other central midfielder.
Yet Mainoo has solved the problem for Southgate and now England can continue to dream big. And it is totally unthinkable from where you consider how they played in the group stages when they stunk out Germany.
In Sunday’s final, England’s experienced players will be able to draw on the pain of both the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020.
For Mainoo, this will be a completely new experience but do not expect him to wilt. He’ll absolutely love it.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
