Virgil van Dijk, the captain of the Netherlands, has disclosed what referee Felix Zwayer did as soon as the final whistle went.

Ollie Watkins’ goal in the ninetieth minute on Wednesday night guaranteed England’s spot in Sunday night’s Euro 2024 final against Spain, but Gareth Southgate’s team once again left it late.

Xavi Simons’ incredible goal put the Three Lions under 1-0 after just seven minutes, but a contentious penalty call allowed them to tie the game with a 12-yard shot.

In the end, England won 2-1 to advance to the Euro finals twice.

“The referee ran back inside straight after the FT whistle, that says a lot,” a devastated Netherlands skipper Van Dijk said in his post-match remarks.

The dubious penalty and his decision not to give a corner after the ball bounced off John Stones last left the Dutch feeling badly taken advantage of.

Adds Van Dijk: “I’m at a loss for words. It is awful to give in at such a late hour. This hurts a lot. I’m stuck standing here, and I’m not even sure what to say. It hurts so bad.

Pierre van Hooijdonk, a former Dutch football player, stated on NOS: “Felix Zwayer, put him on the black list.” The game’s outcome was determined by the penalty in the first half and several key moments in the second.

Former striker Alan Shearer stated on BBC Radio 5 Live following England’s victory: “Yes, Gareth Southgate has received criticism on occasion. However, I felt tonight’s first half was fantastic; it was more along the lines of what we had hoped for, and he should get all the credit.

Izzy Christiansen, a former Manchester City player, continued, “Gareth Southgate seemed to have this deep strength within him.” He was passing out in front of the throng, and I was able to lip read him. He murmured, “One more,” and the crowd applauded.

“He seemed to be releasing a lot of stuff at that very moment.”

Watkins scored the crucial victory with just four touches.

His lone touch inside the box was the goal.

After an incredible first half, the Dutch had pressed England back, and with 81 minutes remaining, Southgate substituted Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer for England’s all-time leading scorer Harry Kane and Footballer of the Year Phil Foden.

Then, in the ninetieth minute, Palmer found Aston Villa striker Watkins, who turned and fired a shot into the lower right corner.

England found themselves in Never-Never Land following their unexpected defeat of the Netherlands in Sunday’s final versus Spain in Berlin.

Despite facing backlash and mockery in recent weeks, Southgate was pulling off a brilliant tactical manoeuvre that secured England’s place in the tournament for the second time in a row.

Currently, England has won three straight knockout games after coming back from behind.

Without a question, this side has the bottle, and they showed it in this instance when Xavi Simons’ early opener was matched by Kane’s penalty. They had a fantastic first half that was full of energy and purpose.

One of those really rare evenings when England was playing in a major international semifinal.

Similar to Turin in 1990, when Gazza shed tears, and Moscow in 2018, when England, in the era of Southgate’s feel-good waistcoats, threw away a lead against Croatia.

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An hour before kickoff, there appeared to be a heavy weight of history in the air. Or perhaps it was just the extreme humidity that caused a stunning cloudburst.

The famed Yellow Wall in Dortmund was painted orange, and England’s crowd was so greatly outnumbered that it seemed like an away game.

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Ever cautious, Southgate chose his normal squad, with Marc Guehi the only player back from suspension (Ezri Konsa was absent).

He had been persuading himself—if not the rest of us—that their play had been excellent.

It didn’t really matter how England got here, though, now that they were. This was all that mattered.

Three Lions was played before to the start of play. If this team didn’t put the formbook and the history books through the shredder, thirty years of pain could turn into sixty years.

Nevertheless, the Dutch scored after seven minutes of their initial offensive.

Xavi Simons moved forward and fired a shot that went past Jordan Pickford and into the far corner, robbing Declan Rice.

Unbelievable strike

Dortmund is treated to pure Dutch joy by Xavi Simons! #Euro2024 | #NEDENG ️ tweet.com/PNKwNbQcUr

July 10, 2024 — ITV Football (@itvfootball)

Strangely enough, though, England had launched the game with far greater fluency than they had ever done since their opening game against Serbia.

Saka, who scored goals and was named player of the match during their quarterfinal victory against Switzerland, exuded a delectable demeanour.

And it was Saka who charted the path to England’s equaliser after Bart Verbruggen denied Kane’s strong shot from the bottom corner.

The Arsenal forward cut inside from the right, entered an orange-colored melee, and then saw his pass deflected to Kane, who missed the mark before being stopped by Denzel Dumfries’ boot.

Referee Felix Zwayer wasn’t interested at first, but after being sent to his monitor, he was given what looked like a very modern slow-motion VAR penalty.

Kane advanced and struck it low to Verbruggen’s right. The England captain, who most of us doubted, found himself tied for first place in the Golden Boot standings after scoring three goals.