HISTORY,BOYS

England finally showed their true colours at the European Championship on Wednesday, putting on a convincing and effective performance when it mattered most to book themselves a berth in Sunday’s final in Berlin.

Ollie Watkins’ late winner to secure the 2-1 win over the Netherlands was as much as they deserved after dominating the encounter in a display their supporters had been eagerly awaiting but barely daring to hope for.

It was an emphatic answer after the criticism heaped on the side for some languid showings against underwhelming opposition earlier in the tournament, and sets up a mouth-watering final against a slick-looking Spain.

England had frustrated their followers, looking pedestrian at times in the group phase as well as their knockout round games. It was as if they were suffocating at times under a heavy burden of expectation, a feeling coach Gareth Southgate said on Tuesday that they learned to leave behind as they went deeper into the tournament.

Their round of 16 performance as they edged Slovakia bordered on the miraculous, snatching victory minutes from being eliminated, and there was a nervy showing as they fought back, again, to edge Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-final.

This time, however, there was a positivity about their play from the start, even if it was a third successive game where they went behind, this time to Xavi Simons’ spectacular seventh minute effort.

Harry Kane’s penalty equaliser was followed by a sustained period of pressure on the Dutch defence, with England shaking off the cobwebs and properly greasing the wheels of their attack.

The individual quality of their players was on full display and they had their opponents pegged back, looking dangerous every time they entered the final third. Phil Foden was exceedingly unlucky not to have them ahead at halftime with some sublime skill but had his effort cleared off the line.

The second period was not as dominant as fatigue set in and the Dutch enjoyed their fair share of possession.

But even then, whenever England moved menacingly forward, a goal looked on the cards.

It was almost to script that they engineered victory just before the final whistle, as Watkins emerged an unlikely hero not long after coming on.

The confidence boost cannot be underestimated, especially as an in-form opponent awaits on Sunday at the Olympiastadion.

When they needed to stand up and be counted, the real England came to the party and, after almost a month of gritty competition, the tournament has two worthy finalists.

England’s last-gasp victory showed their character and resilience and the team are ready to take the final step and lift their first major trophy in almost 60 years, manager Gareth Southgate said.

“We all want to be loved, right?” Southgate told a press conference. “When you are doing something for your country and you are a proud Englishman, when all you read is criticism it is hard. To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special.”

“We have given people some amazing nights, some of the best nights in 50 years.”

Southgate, who took over in 2016, has now led them to at least the quarter-finals in the last four major tournaments, the only European side to achieve this feat.

They lost to Italy on penalties in the Euro 2020 final but now have the chance to go one better against Spain in Sunday’s showcase in Berlin.

“It shows the more modern England way but also the resilience and character of the group. Ollie Watkins has trained like that every day. He has trained for his moment no matter how frustrated.”

“They had each other’s’ back, they bonded so well and tonight it was an example of that.”

England needed penalties to overcome Switzerland in the last eight before the late winner on Wednesday, and Southgate said his team had learned from knockout matches since the 2018 World Cup in Russia where they lost in the semi-finals to Croatia.

“We are more calm going into the knockout games. In Russia we had not won a knockout game in 10 years,” Southgate said.

“To be able to take the team to the first final overseas I am immensely proud of that,” he said.

England won the 1966 World Cup on home soil while the Euro 2020 final was also held at Wembley.

They will now face the form team of the tournament Spain, who have all their matches in Germany.

“We will have to get the ball off them first,” Southgate said of their next opponents.

“It is not as simple as us having the ball and making them run. We have to be exceptional with the ball and without it. They have been the best team.”

“We are starting to show a better version of ourselves,” he said, adding they had one less day than Spain, who beat France on Tuesday in their semi-final, to prepare.

“But we are in there with what we have shown to this point. We have as good a chance as they do. We have come here to win it. It is a huge task but we are still here and fighting.” – Reuters