England fans are daring to dream after the Three Lions moved one step closer to Euro 2024 glory by beating the Netherlands in a dramatic semi-final on Wednesday night.
Substitute Ollie Watkins buried a stunning strike into the bottom left corner with just seconds remaining to send Gareth Southgate‘s men into Sunday’s final against Spain in Berlin.
The striker had replaced captain Harry Kane, who had earlier equalised for England with a penalty in the first-half – cancelling out Xavi Simons’ wonderstrike after just seven minutes.
England’s star-studded squad were supported by an army of WAGs and celebrities including Adele and Ed Sheeran as they reached their first ever Euros final on foreign soil.
Southgate’s squad will now attempt to go one step further than Euro 2020, when they lost to Italy in the final at Wembley.
Nervous fans suffered early heartbreak when Xavi Simons opened the scoring with a thunder strike in the 7th minute. But their agony turned into euphoria when Kane equalised from the spot 11 minutes later.
With the game heading to extra-time, pints flew across pubs and fan zones as Watkins struck with seconds to go, prompting England’s players to run onto the pitch in jubilation.
Ollie Watkins dramatically sent England into the final of the European Championship with a sensational strike
His last minute winner sent England fans wild as the Euros dream inches closer
England fans threw their pints into the air and cheered as Watkins clinched the winner
The build-up to the semi-final was marred by violence as Dutch hooligans injured five England fans in a series of shameless attacks at Dortmund bars.
Thousands of fans who packed out the BVB Stadion Dortmund were also drenched with torrential rain due to a leaking roof.
But the Three Lions’ travelling fan base will be celebrating into the night after a historic win.
Both sets of supporters descended on Dortmund in their droves – with England’s fans outnumbered on a rare occasion. Back in the UK, the motorways were empty at kick-off as fans at home were glued to their screens.
The Orange Army marched through the streets of the German city ahead of kick-off, singing, dancing and letting off flares as they followed an orange double-decker bus to the stadium.
It was a night to remember for the young England squad – who put on their best performance of the tournament by far.
England fans at Millennium Square, Leeds, during a screening of England’s semi-final
England fans let off flares and get on each other’s shoulders at Millenium Square, Leeds
England fans launch pints into the air after Harry Kane’s equaliser
Fans were sent into a frenzy after equalising just 10 minutes after conceding
England fans go wild as Kane dispatches his penalty in the first-half of the semi-final
England fans throw pints in the air at Central Park, Newcastle, as Kane scores
Harry Kane celebrates after scoring a penalty against the Netherlands
England’s squad, including Saka, Kane and Mainoo celebrate the equaliser in front of the fans
Singer Olly Murs was among those who were watching the game at Boxpark Wembley
Xavi Simons celebrates after opening the scoring with a stunning strike past a helpless Jordan Pickford
Dutch fans celebrate after Xavi gave them an early lead in Dortmund on Wednesday evening
Dumfries hits the crossbar in the first-half
He also cleared the ball off the line after Foden thought he had scored
Foden’s curling strike hits the post in the first-half
Moments before Kane’s goal, fans were left devastated by the Netherlands’ opener
Many were left stunned by the incredible opening goal that gave England a mountain to climb
England fans were visibly nervous during the semi-final clash in Dortmund on Wednesday night
The England squad huddle together and celebrate after scoring moments after the Netherlands
Harry Kane celebrates with Jude Bellingham after scoring
England fans have packed out the Dortmund stadium
There was euphoria when England equalised
Three Lions fans erupted at Boxpark Wembley when Kane buried his penalty
England fans pose as Three Lions at the Dortmund stadium in Germany on Wednesday night
England fans were running through the emotions as the Three Lions battled for the final against the Netherlands
England fans groan after Bukayo Saka’s goal is ruled out for offside
England were electric in the first-half but fans were visibly struggling in the second-half
England fans pray for a Three Lions victory as they watch the game at Boxpark Wembley
It followed a first-half in which Xavi Simons opened the scoring inside seven minutes with an absolute thunder strike into the top corner, with a helpless Jordan Pickford unable to keep it out.
Harry Kane tried to respond instantly, shooting from range on the slippery turf but his effort was kept out by Verbruggen.
Moments later, he blazed a strike narrowly over the bar as he was taken out by Dumfries.
A VAR intervention – controversially – ruled that Dumfries had fouled Kane and the referee awarded a penalty which the England captain buried into the bottom left corner.
Sir Keir Starmer managed to watch Kane’s goal in a room with his Dutch counterpart – as they are both in Washington for the Nato summit..
The Prime Minister got out of his seat as the spot-kick was drilled home, then shook hands with the Netherlands’ Dick Schoof.
Sir Keir posted on X: ‘Picked the right moment to pop out from Nato meetings and check the score…’
England then nearly doubled their lead as Phil Foden danced around several defenders in the box before rolling the ball under the keeper only to see his effort hooked off the line by Dumfries at the critical moment.
The heavily involved Dumfries almost made amends for giving away a penalty minutes later as he crashed a header off the bar from a corner.
But an electric England pushed for another and Foden came inches away from doing so, curling a stunning effort against the woodwork himself, before the break.
During the half-time break, ITV‘s Mark Pougatch paid tribute to BBC commentator John Hunt – whose wife and two daughters were allegedly shot dead with a crossbow in their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, last night.
ITV commentator Sam Matterface then said: ‘That echoes our thoughts, a wonderful commentator and a wonderful man.’
In the second-half, England carried on from where they left as Saka drove to the byline and pulled the ball back, but had no support with him.
But with 30 minutes remaining, the Netherlands came back into the game, seeing more of the ball as the semi-final became more even.
Their pressure almost paid off as Virgil Van Dijk forced a smart save out of Pickford to keep the scores level in the 65th minute.
With 20 minutes to go – and tensions high – Jude Bellingham went into the book with a late challenge.
England fans were sent into raptures again with 11 minutes to go as Saka gave the Three Lions the lead, finishing off a brilliant team goal. But their cheers soon turned to despair as the offside flag ruled that Walker – who cut the ball back for Saka – was offside in the lead-up.
Moving into the final seven minutes, Marc Guehi brilliantly intervened to block Wout Weghorst from scoring at the other end.
The memory of Saka’s goal being ruled out was all forgotten about when Palmer played Ollie Watkins in, who swiveled his body and fired a strike into the bottom left corner to send England to Berlin.
The calm before the storm
Gareth Southgate applauds the fans ahead of kick-off at the Dortmund stadium on Wednesday
Megan Davidson, the wife of Jordan Pickford
Love Island star Dani Dyer, the partner of Jarrod Bowen
Anouska Santos, the partner of Luke Shaw
Kyle Walker’s wife Annie Kilner was in attendance – having stirred up controversy in recent weeks
Ollie Watkins’ partner Ellie Alderson and his family watch on
Lewis Dunk’s partner Abi Yaxley
Harry Kane’s wife Kate Goodland
English singer-songwriter Adele (L) sits in the stands as she joined A-list celebs at the game
The crunch clash came after tens of thousands of Dutch and England fans had partied the day away in Dortmund.
Some 40,000 Three Lions supporters are in Dortmund for the game as England played their third semi-final in the past four major tournaments.
Millions more were watching back home on TV with 28million people expected to tune into ITV’s coverage and an estimated 35million pints set to be poured.
The Three Lions topped their group in unconvincing fashion; scraping through against Slovakia after a late Jude Bellingham strike in the last 16; then beating Switzerland on penalties in the quarter-finals.
Britain’s pubs were set for a multi-million pound bonanza from fans who are watching at home.
Landlords were expecting to pull an extra eight million pints from the pre-match build up to the final whistle.
Thousands of those pints, including gallons of alcohol-free beers, will flow during the late night licensing hours with pubs in England allowed to remain open until 1am.
The late-night hours were proposed in the last days of the Conservative government and will be enacted unopposed in Parliament tomorrow by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
England fans at Peckham Arches in London during a screening of the UEFA Euro 2024 semi-final match
Three Lions supporters throw their pints in the air at Boxpark Croydon as they celebrate Kane’s goal
England fans in the Camp and Furnace Pub react as England play the Netherlands in the semi-final
England fans celebrate their side’s first goal of the game, scored by Harry Kane
England supporters celebrate at the Boxpark Fan Zone while watching a public screening at Boxpark
These England fans are backing the Three Lions to make the final in Berlin against Spain on Sunday
Former England defender Rio Ferdinand takes a selfie with the fans
England fans watching the game in Manchester react during the semi-final clash on Wednesday
Emma McClarkin, Chief Executive of the British Beer And Pub Association hailed the boost.
She said: ‘We expect an incredible eight million extra pints to be poured in our pubs during England’s semi-final against the Netherlands.
‘This amounts to an amazing £40 million in additional trade for pubs and breweries.
‘And let’s not forget that England making it to the semi finals now means pubs will be licensed to stay open until 1am on Wednesday night, giving fans even more time to enjoy the game and support our pubs.
In Dortmund today, Netherlands supporters turned the city into a sea of orange as they danced, chanted and let off flares.
Most do not have match tickets but made the journey to watch the game in one of the city’s two fan parks, causing one to put the ‘full house’ signs up seven hours before kick off.
Dutch fans appeared to attack England supporters for ‘no reason’ around the city of Dortmund
UK Police have said groups of ‘risk supporters’ are known to be among the 80,000 strong Dutch support that has descended on the German city, as they warned England fans to seek refuge in areas populated by German police
Stools, benches and bottles were flung during the fracas ahead of England’s semi-final
Many were seen accepting their fate and jumping around in the rain
England fans cheer and use mops to try and dry their seats
Water comes down from the edge of the stadium roof following heavy rainfall
Stadium staff attempt to clear the rain before kick-off at the Dortmund stadium on Sunday
The rain was crashing down in Dortmund on Wednesday night
Thousands of England fans made the trip to Dortmund
England and Netherlands fans have descended on Dortmund
An England win would set up a Euros final against Spain
England will make history if they reach the final
England and Netherlands fans mess around before kick-off
Thousands were jammed into the city centre, on trams on the city’s underground and outside their team’s hotel near the BVB Stadion.
Supporters started a two-mile march to the stadium some five hours before kick-off, led by an orange double-decker bus.
The exciting day was thrown into chaos, however, when Dutch hooligans started attacking England fans – as The Euros exploded into sickening violence.
Videos surfaced on X of swathes of people dressed in the iconic bright orange football shirts throwing stools and benches outside of Sausalitos restaurant and bar in Germany ahead of kick-off.
UK Police have said groups of ‘risk supporters’ are known to be in Dortmund and warned England fans to seek refuge in areas populated by German police.
In one of the clips locals attempted to guard the cafe, with fans who chose to venture out and engage with the mob being quickly set upon.
England fans party in Dortmund
An England fans lets off a flare in Dortmund
England fans can be seen chanting, with beers in hand in Dortmund as the Three Lions face off against the Netherlands in their semi-final match on Wednesday
England fans are in good spirits ahead of the Three Lions’ Wednesday night crunch match against the Netherlands
An England fan sips a beer on the shoulders of his mate amid a sea of Netherlands fans
Netherland supporters cheer in the streets of Dortmund, western Germany, on July 10
England fans in Dortmund for the Three Lions’ semi-final match against the Netherlands
A bar staff member at the restaurant claimed that the fight broke out after Dutch fans attempted to steal a flag from England supporters.
Speaking to the MailOnline Leo Woeho said: ‘There was provocation from both sides. They were singing songs.
‘The Dutch were saying to the English that they were going to go home and lose tonight.
‘Then I saw the Dutch fans trying to take the England flag and that’s when the trouble started.
‘The Dutch fans started throwing things like tables and chairs and bottles and then the England fans retaliated.’
‘He said nobody was seriously injured, although police made several arrests.
‘There is a lot of damage, a TV has been smashed, furniture broken and damage is elsewhere.
‘It was quite scary and it is a shame. It means we have to close and open now until tomorrow.’
A spokesperson for the UK Football Policing Unit said: ‘We are aware of some reports and videos circulating of disorder in Dortmund.
Dutch fans, led by an orange double-decker bus, make their way to Dortmund’s stadium for the semi-final
A sea of orange made its way through the German city ahead of the crunch-semi final clash
The Dutch are set to outnumber the England fans as they make the trip across the border
Topless Dutch fans cheer in the streets of Dortmund
‘It appears that there have been several instances of Dutch fans attacking England fans in bars and attempting to steal flags.
‘We understand this has resulted in minor injuries to five people. We are also aware that in addition to the tens of thousands of Dutch fans there to enjoy the game, there are groups of risk supporters who have travelled to Dortmund from the Netherlands.
‘Our officers are at the location supporting German colleagues. We would advise supporters to be aware of their surroundings and seek areas where there is a German Police presence.’