England reach the European Championship final in Germany! The “Three Lions” staged a stunning comeback against the Netherlands to win 2-1 and secure their place in the final, where they will face Spain! This is the second consecutive final for the Albion on the continental stage, after losing the final to Italy three years ago.
Shavi Simons gave the “Tulips” an early lead in the 7th minute, but the “Three Lions” equalized in the 18th through Harry Kane from the penalty spot. In the 90th minute, substitute Ollie Watkins brought great joy to the English fans.
The match started brilliantly for the “Tulips”, who took the lead in the 7th minute. Xavi Simons won the ball from Declan Rice in the middle of England’s half, advanced and with a great shot from the edge of the box left Jordan Pickford with no chance.
The “Three Lions” immediately tried to get back into the game and Bart Verbruggen had to make a save from a Harry Kane shot.
In the 14th minute, Bukayo Saka broke through from the left, entered the box and attempted a shot, which was blocked. The ball fell to Harry Kane, who shot on the move from a good position, but over the bar. During the shot, there was contact between the striker’s foot and Dumfries, and the situation was reviewed by VAR and referee Felix Zwayer was called to the monitor, after which he pointed to the penalty spot. Harry Kane stepped up to the ball and with a precise shot into the bottom right corner made it 1-1.
After the equalizer, Gareth Southgate’s men pressed forward and were close to a second goal in the 23rd minute. Phil Foden burst into the box from the right, weaved his way past a few players in orange and managed to beat the goalkeeper from a tight angle, but Dumfries cleared from the goal line.
In the 29th minute, Marc Guehi blocked a shot from Donyell Malen after an excellent counter-attack by the “Tulips”. From the resulting corner, Dumfries rose above everyone else and headed the ball against the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, the crossbar stopped the islanders. A long-range shot from Foden hit it and went out for a corner.
In the 35th minute, Memphis Depay was injured and was replaced by Joey Veerman. Before the end of the half, Foden had another long-range shot, but this time it did not trouble the “Tulips” goalkeeper.
The second half started with more fighting in midfield. It was not until the 65th minute that there was a dangerous situation in front of one of the two goals. Joey Veerman crossed into the box, where Virgil van Dijk got ahead of Kyle Walker and shot from close range, but Pickford showed excellent reflexes and turned the ball away for a corner. From the corner, Dumfries’ header went over the bar.
In the 76th minute, a weak shot from a good position by Simons did not trouble the “Three Lions” keeper. Four minutes later, England thought they had scored a goal that was disallowed. Kyle Walker received a pass from the right and crossed to Bukayo Saka, and the winger sent the ball into the net from a few yards out. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.
In the first minute of added time, England scored the winning goal. Cole Palmer with a great pass found Ollie Watkins in the box. The striker was back to goal, turned and from a tight angle fired a powerful shot into the far corner, the ball going between Stefan de Vrij’s legs and into the net, thus securing the Albion’s place in the trophy match.
The final between England and Spain will be played on July 14 at 21:00 local time in Berlin.
And if you want to try your luck, or have a gut feeling about the final result of one of the Euro 2024 matches, do it with the help of our trusted partner BetMGM by clicking on the banner below: