One-Goal Win! Watkins’ 90th-minute Winner Saves Bellingham, Is Championship = Ballon d’Or?

Europeans love comebacks, they love last-minute goals even more!

In the early hours of July 11th, the second semi-final of the European Championship kicked off. England, thanks to Watkins’ 90th-minute winner, defeated the Netherlands 2-1, advancing to the final. Southgate’s miraculous substitutions wiped away the shame, and Bellingham’s Ballon d’Or dream continues.

As a hot favorite to win the European Championship, England, with their star-studded lineup, has yet to show convincing performances. They stumbled through the group stage with 1 win and 2 draws, barely making it to the Round of 16. Against Slovakia in the Round of 16, they needed a last-minute equalizer from Bellingham’s acrobatic volley, and Kane’s extra-time goal to win the game.

In the last game against a formidable Swiss team, England conceded the first goal again. Saka stepped up to save the day, and England once again overturned the deficit through a successful penalty shootout. Many fans stated that Southgate didn’t deserve this England team, and that the Three Lions would go home when they met a real strong opponent.

Against the Dutch, England conceded the first goal again, Simons’ 7th-minute volley pushed the Three Lions to the edge of the cliff. Maybe they had played so many matches where they were behind, England became more composed. Kane quickly earned a penalty to level the score, stabilizing the team’s mentality.

In the first 45 minutes, Foden revived the offense, Mendy and Rice controlled the game, England’s attack was fierce, and they were dominant for a period, only to be saved by Denfries’ goal-line clearance and the post, perhaps the Three Lions wouldn’t have had such a tough time.

England could not sustain their momentum in the second half, the game turned into a tug-of-war against the Netherlands. At this point, Southgate, who has been criticized for not daring to offend big names, showed unprecedented courage and determination. In the 80th minute, he made two substitutions in one go, Kane, the scorer, and Foden, who had shown signs of recovery, were both taken off. Palmer and Watkins came on.

Watkins, 28, has shown signs of late blooming. Last season, he scored 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 appearances for Villa, including 19 goals and 13 assists in the Premier League, ranking fourth in the scoring charts and first in assists. However, he only made one appearance in the last 5 European Championship matches, for only 15 minutes.

Many former players and journalists spoke out for him, saying that Southgate was stubborn and should give Watkins more opportunities. As the saying goes, the best steel should be used on the sharp edge, Southgate’s bold substitution immediately paid off:

In the 90th minute, Palmer delivered a cross from the right flank, Watkins shielded the ball with his back and suddenly accelerated to get past Aké, he shot from a narrow angle, caught Vibrugen off guard, the Dutch goalkeeper was a step slow, and the ball went into the bottom left corner!

Watkins became the second player in the European Championship knockout stages to score a 90th-minute winner since Lam in 2008, helping England to solve the problem before extra time. Southgate turned the tide in three consecutive games with miraculous substitutions, and also took off the hat of incompetence.

Interestingly, with England’s advance to the final, the biggest beneficiary may be Bellingham, why is that?

In the 23/24 season, Bellingham joined Real Madrid and immediately delivered impressive results, winning the Champions League, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup. But in the European Championship, while Bellingham has scored two goals, he has not lived up to expectations and has attracted a lot of criticism, with some people thinking that his €180m price tag was too high.

However, with Mbappe’s exit from the European Championship in the quarter-finals and Vinicius’ elimination in the America’s Cup, Bellingham has become a strong contender for the Ballon d’Or. If England wins the championship, then with the Champions League and the European Championship under his belt, he has a good chance of replicating Ronaldo’s feat in 2016 and winning the Ballon d’Or.