Gary Lineker delivers six-word verdict on Ollie Watkins' winner for England v Netherlands

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was the star of the show on Wednesday night as he scored the winner for England to reach the Euro 2024 final at the Netherlands’ expense.

The Aston Villa ace, who came on in the last 10 minutes of the game, delivered a moment of magic to send the Three Lions contingent into raptures.

Watkins latched on to a through-ball from fellow substitute Cole Palmer, turned Stefan de Vrij in the box and slammed a low effort home just as the clock hit 90 minutes.

Ronald Koeman’s charges had opened the scoring in Dortmund after just seven minutes as Xavi Simons dispossessed Declan Rice and fired home from the edge of the box.

However, England restored parity just 11 minutes later as Denzel Dumfries was adjudged to have fouled Harry Kane in the Netherlands box.

Referee Felix Zwayer consulted the VAR monitor after Kane went to ground following contact from the Netherlands defender just as he got his shot away.

A penalty was awarded, and the England captain duly stepped up and slammed the ball home into the bottom corner to make it 1-1 in the Euro 2024 encounter.

The second half lacked the quality of the first half, but just as it looked as though the game was going into extra time, the Aston Villa marksman struck to make history.

Gary Lineker hails ‘absolute beauty’ Ollie Watkins

BBC Sport pundit Gary Lineker delivered an emphatic six-word reaction to Watkins’ goal, his first ever for England at a major tournament.

Alan Shearer also hailed Watkins, saying on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I was wondering when the changes were going to happen.

“The changes were right and they were perfect. What a night for Watkins and England.”

England make history at Euro 2024

England’s win over the Netherlands means they have reached a major tournament final on foreign soil for the first time in their history.

The Three Lions won their group thanks to a 1-0 win over Serbia and draws against Denmark and Slovenia.

England then sneaked past Slovakia in the last 16 and then overcame Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals before overcoming the Netherlands in the semis.

Gareth Southgate’s charges will now contest the Euro 2024 final against Spain at Berlin’s Olympiastadion on Sunday, 8pm BST kick-off.