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James Maddison sends 11-word message to Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins after England beat Netherlands
Aston Villa star Ollie Watkins became England’s hero at Euro 2024, and Tottenham Hotspur star James Maddison has now sent him a message.
The Three Lions have made it into the final of the Euros for the second time in a row. They managed to pick up a 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Wednesday night.
Xavi Simons gave the Dutch an early lead after a terrific strike from outside the box. Harry Kane levelled the game 11 minutes later following a controversial penalty.
The game looked almost certain to go into extra-time, but substitute Watkins stepped up and scored a brilliant goal in the 90th minute to give his side the win.
The Aston Villa star has become a national hero since.
James Maddison hails Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins after England beat Netherlands
Ollie Watkins had a fantastic 2023/24 season at Aston Villa.
The Englishman scored 27 goals and provided 13 assists for Unai Emery’s side, and was one of the biggest reasons why they finished inside the top four.
Watkins was rightly called up to the England squad for Euro 2024, but for one reason or another, Gareth Southgate didn’t fancy giving him regular opportunities.
The Aston Villa star’s only appearance in the competition before Wednesday night was against Denmark in the group stage – he came on for the last 20 minutes of that game.
Fans across the country had been calling for Watkins to get an opportunity in recent games. Everyone felt he would be a much bigger threat because of his ability to run in behind.
Southgate finally listened and brought on Watkins against the Netherlands, and the Aston Villa star scored what could be England’s most important goal of the tournament.
After the end of the game, when Watkins was awarded the Man of the Match award, Maddison took to his to heap praise on the striker.
He wrote “What a finish from a super, super human. Top level brother!”
Should Watkins start Euro 2024 final vs Spain?
Southgate has a massive decision to make ahead of the final on Sunday.
The Three Lions looked much better in the game against the Netherlands than in their previous fixtures, which is a good sign ahead of the biggest game of the tournament.
After Watkins’ heroics for England to get them into the final, many people across the country are calling for him to start against Spain.
Kane scored against the Dutch, but he hasn’t looked like his usual self at Euro 2024. He tends to drop too deep and that has reduced the threat England have up front.
Southgate is definitely not going to drop Kane, which makes it difficult for him to accommodate Watkins from the start unless he changes his system.
We think he should because Watkins will cause Spain all sorts of problems, but it’s extremely unlikely that Southgate will make such a big change for the final.