England’s finishers rise to the challenge as Gareth Southgate is rehabilitated on a famous night

Ollie Watkins was the last English player to leave the field. The winning goal ended up being walked down the tunnel with John Stones. He was still beaming, his eyes shining in disbelief as he took it all in.

Moments earlier, the rest of the England team and coaching staff had held back, allowing Watkins his moment alone in front of the fans who danced in the stands and chanted the name of their new hero on repeat.

“I didn’t want to get off the pitch, I just wanted to take it all in,” Watkins said afterwards. He was calm but seemed a little dazed.

This was Watkins’ night. The Aston Villa striker came off the bench to score the winning goal with a brilliant, instinctive finish in injury time to secure a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands and send England into their first major final on foreign soil.

It was another iconic goal for England at Euro 2024, another moment for the highlights, a third great strike in as many knockout games.

If Gareth Southgate’s team beat Spain in Berlin on Sunday, it will go down as one of the most important moments in that nation’s rich football history.

This was Southgate’s night too, and when Watkins had had enough, it was the England manager’s turn to perform in front of the fans, roaring and pumping his fists.

These are the moments Southgate lives for, the reason he continues to do the impossible job. This time there were no boos and no one threw beer mugs at him.

“We are soul mates in many ways,” Southgate said of England’s travelling fans. “We all just want to be loved, don’t we?”

England’s aim was always to win the European Championship but whatever happens against a great Spanish side, Southgate is back in touch with the fans and his approach has been vindicated again, proving his doubters wrong time and time again.

For one thing, it’s time to reassess his ability to change the course of a game. Southgate brought on Watkins with nine minutes left and Cole Palmer, who set up the winner with a sharp pass, and it was genius.

When Southgate selected both Watkins and Ivan Toney to replace Harry Kane, many wondered about his logic, but he has used the pair superbly.

Toney made the difference against Slovakia and Switzerland and given his impact, it was easy to assume that Watkins’ tournament was effectively over.

Southgate, however, sensed that Watkins could pick apart the leggy Dutch defence, so he took Palmer’s pass and fired it through the legs of Stefan de Vrij into the far corner. And then chaos.

The first half was England’s best of the tournament. Kane’s controversial penalty cancelled out Xavi Simons’s goal. Phil Foden’s shot was cleared off the line and hit the post. The playmaker enjoyed the freedom of playing against a back four for once.

Kane was quick-witted, Bukayo Saka was brilliant again and Kobbie Mainoo was the embodiment of youthful exuberance. Southgate’s first decisive decision came at half-time, with Luke Shaw replacing the injured Kieran Trippier.

But the Dutch held out and, after the substitution of Joey Veerman and Wout Weghorst in the second half, were more compact and much harder to break through.

England were tiring and the game was beginning to stagnate, with Jordan Pickford having to save a shot from Virgil van Dijk before Saka’s goal was disallowed for offside by Kyle Walker.

Then came Southgate’s big moment, Palmer was called upon as expected, but Watkins was a surprise. Southgate likes to call his substitutes “finishers” and indeed this England team is made up of finishers.

England may not play as smoothly, as coherently, as controlledly or as excitingly as Spain – and one reporter cheekily asked Dutch coach Ronald Koeman last night if he could give the Spaniards any advice on how to “save football” on Sunday – but they are lethal in the final third.

While the Spanish have the best team, the English have the best clutch players who can create big moments out of nothing.

Jude Bellingham, Kane, Saka, Palmer, Watkins and Toney have all delivered when it counts, while Foden has scored nothing but a goal in Germany. Perhaps his big moment will come at the Olympic Stadium.

Southgate’s plan to keep the game close and rely on inspiration in the final third has been criticised and dismissed as boring or risky. But it works.

England have neither a Rodri nor a Fabian Ruiz, players who can control the game. Spain, on the other hand, have neither a Watkins nor a Toney, let alone a Kane.

England haven’t created many chances, but it’s also hard to think of a big chance they’ve missed in Germany. Any chance they get is fine with them.

Southgate always believed his team would grow as the tournament progressed and England did so by gradually shaking off the rust and moving up a gear.

They have already made history, but not the history they wanted to make here, and they will need to improve to beat a Spanish side that defeated France in the other semi-final on Tuesday.

But contrary to most predictions, England is still here – and Southgate is still standing.