Unlikely Hero Emerges For England With 90th Minute Goal To Reach Euro Final

The "Summer of Soccer" is quickly winding down and the European Championship matchup is set. England got a 90th minute goal from Ollie Watkins, a late substitution, to defeat Netherlands on Wednesday, 2-1. 

England faces Spain in the Euro Final on Sunday, after Spain defeated France on Tuesday. 

The English side recovered from a very early deficit as the Netherlands got on the board just seven minutes into the match. 

That sent the entire country of the Netherlands into utter euphoria. 

It wouldn't last, though. Referees awarded England a penalty kick after a VAR review just over 10 minutes after the Dutch struck first. 

Harry Kane took the PK and buried it into the bottom left-hand corner of the net, just past the outstretched arm of the Netherlands goalkeeper.

England nearly added a second goal just minutes later, but the ball just barely stayed on the end line. 

The match stayed level into halftime and for the majority of the second half, as well. 

England thought it had scored the crucial go-ahead goal in the 79th minute, but was flagged for offsides. 

In a bit of a surprising move, England subbed out star striker Harry Kane and replaced him with Ollie Watkins in the 81st minute. 

England forward Ollie Watkins is congratulated by England's head coach Gareth Southgate after winning the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final football match between the Netherlands and England.

(OZAN KOSE / AFP via Getty Images)

Watkins had barely played in the 2024 European Championship and hadn't seen the field since the second match of the group stage against Denmark.

But none of that mattered when he scored the match winner just as regular time had expired. 

The wild finish keeps the momentum rolling in the Euro Championship, which has been a truly incredible soccer tournament. 

Spain (-155) enters the final match as a favorite over England (+120). The Spanish team won back-to-back Euros in 2008 and then 2012, but haven't reached the final match in the last two iterations. 

England, on the other hand, lost to Italy in the 2020 Euro Final. The English have never won the European Championship, which was first played in 1960. 

If Spain wins, it would lead all nations with 4 European Championship titles, breaking a tie with Germany. 

So, who will ultimately wear the European crown? Tune in to Fox on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET to find out…