England stars celebrate reaching Euro 2024 final with Wags as Ollie Watkins kisses girlfriend after late winning goal
OLLIE WATKINS celebrated his late winner to seal England’s place in the Euro 2024 final by kissing his girlfriend.
The striker was brought on for Harry Kane and only made four touches – one of which was to fire the ball into the bottom corner.
After the final whistle, Watkins walked into the stands to meet his loved ones.
And he shared a big kiss with his partner Ellie Alderson.
She was seen wearing an England shirt with the Aston Villa star’s number 19 on it.
He then hugged another loved one as those around him applauded after his heroics.
Watkins and Ellie have been in a relationship since 2018 and live in Birmingham together.
Ellie is often seen supporting her boyfriend and is a regular at Villa Park, while she also attends football awards events.
Kobbie Mainoo also celebrated with friends and family after a stellar display against Holland.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford chatted with his mum and wife Megan, and captain Harry Kane did likewise with his wife Kate.
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Substitute Conor Gallagher celebrated the famous victory by sharing a heartwarming hug with his other half Aine May Kennedy.
Plenty of Wags were in attendance in Dortmund to cheer on the Three Lions as they booked their place in the Euros final, where they will face Spain at 8pm on Sunday.
England had plenty of concerns against the Dutch as they fell behind inside seven minutes.
Xavi Simons scored a sublime goal after dispossessing Declan Rice in midfield.
However, the goal sparked the Three Lions into life, and they were level eleven minutes later.
Kane won a controversial penalty after being caught by Denzel Dumfries.
The captain took the responsibility and converted from the spot with a tidy finish into the bottom left corner.
Holland came out fighting in the second half to try and find a winner but it was not to be.
That was because Watkins fired home in the 90th minute with a brilliant finish past Bart Verbruggen.
The winning goal sent fans, players and coaching staff into wild celebrations.
Even England’s Dutch coach Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was swept up in the moment before realising it came against his native country.
Pundits Gary Neville and Ian Wright went wild in the ITV studio while Roy Keane remained his composed self.
After the game, Watkins admitted that he had predicted that he would score the winner in a conversation with Cole Palmer.
England will face Spain in the Euro 2024 final on Sunday at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
The Spanish reached the final by beating France in the other semi-final 2-1.
Randal Kolo Muani had given the French the lead before goals from Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo sent Spain through.
England ratings vs Holland
ENGLAND stormed into the final against Spain thanks to Ollie Watkins' last-minute strike in the 2-1 win over Holland.
It was a brilliant team performance, but how did each player rate?
SunSport’s Tom Barclay ran the rule over Southgate’s boys, and here’s how he rated them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (for Kieran Trippier, half-time): 6
Looked assured for a man who has been out for so long.
Ollie Watkins (for Harry Kane, 81): 9 and STAR MAN
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 (for Phil Foden, 81): 7
Had his big chance in the final minutes but shanked it horribly wide – but then fed Watkins for his wonderful winner.
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.