England scorers Watkins and Kane react to their semi-final goals as Netherlands are defeated 2-1 in Dortmund

England semi-final match winner Ollie Watkins has revealed he predicted that he would shoot his side into a second successive European Championship final before he even came on as a late substitute.

Aston Villa striker scored a brilliant 90^th minute goal to secure a 2-1 comeback win for Gareth Southgate’s men following an assist from fellow sub Cole Palmer.

Watkins, named man of the match despite not coming on until the 81^st minute, said: “I swear on my life and my kid’s life, I said to Cole Palmer: ‘We’re coming on today and you’re going to set me up.’

“I knew, as soon as he got the ball, he was going to play me in and you’ve got to be greedy. Touch, finish and when I’ve seen it go in the bottom corner, it was the best feeling ever.”

England captain Harry Kane, who scored a penalty to cancel out an early Xavi Simons opener, added: “We talk about being ready. We’re a big team at being ready. When it matters, you might get five minutes, one minute, but you can make a difference , you can win us a tournament. He’s been waiting, he’s been patient. What he did was outstanding and he deserves it.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s final against Spain, the Bayern Munich forward added: “Another unbelievably tough game. There’s one more game to make history. That’s what we’re excited about. It’s been a tough journey but there’s one more. 90 minutes, 120, penalties, whatever it takes we’ll be there. I’m looking forward to it.”