Supersub Watkins sends England into a final showdown with Spain

Is it time for a rethink about Gareth Southgate's substitutions? As the tension rose at the BVB Stadion and extra time beckoned, it was England who found an extra burst when two players who had not been on the pitch long combined to send them through to a first final on foreign soil.

- Jacob Steinberg

They were all off the bench when Ollie Watkins collected Cole Palmer's pass, swivelled away from Stefan de Vrij and arrowed a shot into the net. Having trailed to a spectacular early goal from Xavi Simons, England had rallied through Harry Kane's penalty, but they had run out of steam during the second half. When Southgate took Kane off for Watkins, nobody could have imagined the impact the striker would make.

A torrential downpour before kickoff was never going to douse the sense of occasion. With the famous Yellow Wall turned a brilliant shade of orange for the evening, there was no holding back from the Dutch during a blistering opening period.

Structural frailties were evident in England straight away. Seven minutes in, they were slow to react when Marc Guéhi, restored at left centre-back after a one-match ban, headed away a long ball. Declan Rice gathered possession, but was swiftly dispossessed by Simons.