Ollie Watkins Reveals Remarkable Prediction Shared Only with Cole Palmer Hours Before Scoring England’s Winning Goal
Watkins and Palmer were England’s heroes in Dortmund.
Ollie Watkins has revealed the incredible prediction that he made just hours before England reached the Euro 2024 final.
The Aston Villa star scored a superb goal on the angle in injury time to secure a 2-1 victory for England over the Netherlands.
It was the first tournament goal the 28-year-old has ever scored in just his second substitute appearance at Euro 2024.
The Three Lions will now take on Spain, who beat France 2-1 on Sunday, in the final.
Watkins will hope to play another significant role in the match – whether that be from the bench or from the start.
Another player in contention for a potential start is Cole Palmer, who provided an inch-perfect assist for Watkins to roll Micky van de Ven and fire the ball into the bottom left corner.
And speaking to ITV Sport after the game, Watkins revealed that he made a scarily accurate prediction to Palmer before the match started – and kept it between them both.
He said: “I swear on my life – I said to Cole Palmer, ‘We’re coming on today, and you’re going to set me up’.
“That’s why I was so happy with him. I knew, as soon as he got the ball, that he was going to play me.
“You’ve got to be greedy, touch and finish. When I’ve seen it go in the bottom corner, it was the best feeling ever.
“There’s been a lot of criticism [of England], but at the end of the day, we’re in the final. That’s all that matters, so forget all the outside noise. We’re in the final.”
England face Spain on Sunday in what will be their second consecutive European Championship final – and the second final that they have reached under Gareth Southgate.
Harry Kane was England’s other goalscorer on the night, netting from the penalty spot in the first half after Xavi Simons’ long-distance strike had put the Netherlands ahead early on.
