Substitute Ollie Walkins scored a goal in the 90th minute to help England reach the Euro 2020 final. England beat the Netherlands 2-1 to book their ticket to the final. England will take on Spain in the final in Berlin on Sunday.
Spain defeated France 2-1 in the first semi-final to seal the final. This is England’s second consecutive final. This is the sixth time the Dutch have been knocked out of the Euro Cup semi-finals. Captain Harry Kane (18th minute, penalty) also found the target for England. Xavi Simmons scored a goal for the Netherlands. England had the upper hand in terms of forwards and ball possessions. England’s most beautiful first half of this Euro was seen on the field against the Dutch. Phil Foden’s rise to form has sharpened England’s attacks. Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham led the movement.
All the moves of the Dutch revolved around Cody Gacpo and Simons. The Netherlands took the lead first in the match. In the 7th minute, Xavi Simmons scored a long-range bullet shot from just in front of the box, which was deflected into the net by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. After the goal fell, England woke up and played.
England rattled the Dutch goalmouth with beautiful moves. They scored a penalty in the 18th minute to seal the match. The referee awarded a penalty in England’s favor in a war test for attempting to block Harry Kane’s shot inside the box with a densely dumfries foot. Kane took the kick and got the ball into the net with ease. Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbrugen jumped in the direction of the ball but to no avail. In the 23rd minute, Phil Foden’s one-man move inside the box was saved by Dumfries on the goal line.
In the 30th minute, Dumfries’ header from the corner hit the crossbar. Shortly thereafter, Foden’s shot from just outside the box hit the left foot and hit the post. The city star’s shot was similar to the magic goal scored by teenager Lamin Yamal in the first semi-final against France. For the first half-hour, England dominated the proceedings and ball possession. The Dutch made only isolated moves. In the 36th minute, the Netherlands had to withdraw an injured Memphis Depay. Joe Weerman came in instead.
In the first 15 minutes of the second half, neither side made any significant strides. The first half lost the excitement and pace of the match as they played defensively. In the 65th minute, a free-kick into the box was deflected into the post by Virgil Vandeck, but Pickford came to the team’s rescue. In the 78th minute, Simons’ shot went straight into the hands of Pickford. In the meantime, Bukayo Saka netted but was trapped on the offside. England withdrew Harry Kane and Foden and brought in Cole Palmer and Watkins.
In the 84th minute, England defended a brilliant move by the Dutch inside the box. Shortly afterwards, the Dutch got a free kick in their favor outside the box but could not take advantage of it. Substitute Ollie Walkins comes to England’s rescue at a time when it is almost certain that the match will go into extra time. It was another substitute, Palmer, who scored the goal. The ball was delivered into the box by Watkins with a brilliant shot into the net. England reached the final with a 2-1 win.