England v Netherlands - as it happened: King jokes about final after Watkins wins it late on for Three Lions (2024)

Thanks for following along to our live coverage tonight.

We'll see you on Sunday for the final.

Gareth Southgate's focus has quickly switched from celebrating the semi-final triumph to Sunday's European Championship final against Spain.

Speaking at a press conference last night, he said the Three Lions have the "greatest possible test to prepare for and we came here to try and win the tournament, and that’s still our aim".

Southgate's concerns about Spain are backed up by the stats, with the team havingovercome hosts Germany in the quarter-finals before beating France in Tuesday's semi-final.

But the England manager - who has led the team in over 100 matches - said his side is "still fighting".

Admitting that in recent days he has been hurt by the personal criticism aimed at him over England's performance, Southgate said it made yesterday's victory all the sweeter.

"We all want to be loved, right? When you are doing something for your country and you are a proud Englishman, when you don't feel that back and all you read is criticism, it is hard," the England boss said.

"To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special. Especially the fans that travel.

"If I hadn't been on the grass, I'd have been watching, celebrating like they were. We're kindred spirits in many ways. Of course, I'm the one that has to pick a team.

"To be able to give them a night like tonight is very, very special."

BySiobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent

After a day of boisterous build up, nerves seemed to settle upon the mainly Dutch crowd at the Dortmund fanzone as the match against England kicked off.

Orange shirts dominated the 6,500 strong crowd which burst into life when Xavi Simons scored.

But the relief at pulling ahead was short-lived, with Harry Kane's equaliser marked by a collective groan.

Earlier in the day, tens of thousands of Dutch fans had marched to the stadium, a sea of orange winding its way slowly through the streets.

While they greatly outnumbered the England fans, no-one I spoke to underestimated the competition they'd face from Southgate's side.

And they were right.

When the final whistle blew marking England's victory, it was the small cluster of fans in white shirts celebrating.

"We were praying England would turn up and they finally have," saidLouis from Southampton.

"I've never experienced an atmosphere like it, it was a huge sigh of relief."

"I think we can win," added his friend, Sam.

As disappointed Netherlands fans streamed out, some stopped to shake the hand of Darren, who was watching the game with his family.

"The Netherlands fans have been amazing," he said.

Like many here, he's now working out a way to get to Berlin for the final.

Tonight, they watched a slice of history being made and every England fan here is determined to secure a seat for the final instalment.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suggested to US President Joe Biden that the Three Lions have what it takes to win Euro 2024.

During a meeting at the White House following England's semi-final win, the president asked if it was coming home, to which Sir Keir said: "It looks like it."

"It's because of the prime minister," Mr Biden replied.

In a slight boast, Sir Keir adds: "Not lost a game under the Labour government in 2024."

Despite being in Washington DC, the football-loving prime minister managed to tune into the match, catching Harry Kane's penaltyalongside his Dutch counterpart Dick Schoof.

Here's how some of our readers have been reacting to tonight's drama...

So proud of our team - the very best of England.

Dee

I’m a 69 year old woman from Folkestone Kent. I’ve never been a football fan as such but tonight I became a football hooligan - I’ve lost my voice from screaming my popcorn went everywhere 🤣

Marianne

A much better performance tonight but we'll have to up it much further against a team who - so far - have won every game in this tournament.

Steve

Southgate deserves a Knighthood, do you agree?

Kevlar

England are one game away, but we've been here before, haven't we?

Heartbreak at the hands of Italy three years ago is still fresh in the memory for supporters.

The news that fans don't want to hear? Their opponents this time are much, much better than that dogged Italian side that prevailed at Wembley.

Spain have been the best side at Euro 2024 by a country mile.

They've taken the hardest possible road to Berlin too, conquering Italy, Croatia, Germany, and France on their way to a first final since 2012.

As supporters have bemoaned the low blocks and tired attacks shown by plenty of Europe's best teams, Spain have been the tournament's saviours.

Luis de la Fuente's side have style, skill, and belief in abundance.

Manchester City's robot Rodri bossing the midfield, a reinvigorated Marc Cucurella bombing down the left, 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal scoring in semi-finals - this is a Spanish side positively overflowing with talent.

That's what awaits Gareth Southgate's England in Berlin on Sunday. Without a doubt the hardest test they've faced this summer.

But after a tournament of pulling out magic moments when they've needed them most, would it be too much to ask for another in Berlin?

Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman to ITV Sport:

Did England deserve it?:"First half, yes. Second half, not.

"In the second half, it was more 50/50, there were problems in our midfield in the first half. We didn't control how they played between the lines with Bellingham and Foden, that was really difficult.

"We had to change to put one more in midfield. Then it was a 50/50 match.

"My feeling was in the last 20/25 minutes, maybe our team is a little bit more fresh than England.

"But they scored a late goal in the last minute and that's football. Sometimes I don't say it's unlucky because it's a great goal.

"Maybe we deserved extra time, but it's like that. We can be proud about our team, our players because we had a great tournament and unlucky that it stops tonight."

Gareth Southgate, who has taken quite a bit of criticism during this tournament, has said tonight's win "has to be the best [achievement]".

"It's another landmark, but the way we played, we played so well throughout the game," he told ITV Sport.

"It was a complicated game, they kept changing, we had to respond. We caused them problems all night and the end is so special for the squad."

The manager said he was "so chuffed" for Ollie Watkins, who can "press well and make those runs in behind".

He added: "We deserved to win tonight. We were very fluid in our formation, it wasn't just a back three, we had to adapt all the time and the players made so many good decisions."

Jude Bellingham has said he "couldn't be prouder" of his teammate Ollie Watkins, who scored the 90th-minute winner.

"Unbelievable. I'm so happy for him. He came on and took his opportunity," he told ITV Sport.

"People don't understand that you miss your holidays, you're away from the family and you're not starting every game like at your club so it's difficult. It can take a lot out of you if you don't have the right mentality but Ollie absolutely does. He's got his reward for it tonight and he's the hero and he's saved us."

Commenting on the match as a whole, he said the most important thing was getting the win and "finding a way".

"Character, mentality, that attitude of anyone can win us the game if they're given the chance," he said.

"Ollie came on and did that," he added, joking that "I don't know if I had another half-an-hour in me!"

If you were an England fan who had concert tickets booked for tonight you might have been feeling conflicted as you headed through the turnstiles.

US indie band The Killers got the memo...