Ollie Watkins' stunning Cole Palmer prediction minutes before England goal came true

Aston Villa ace Ollie Watkins has shared his premonition that Chelsea's Cole Palmer would set him up for the crucial goal in England's Euro 2024 semi-final win over the Netherlands.

Watkins netted the winner in the Three Lions' thrilling 2-1 victory, following an earlier equaliser by Harry Kane and Xavi Simons' opener for the Dutch side. Despite Bukayo Saka's disallowed goal for offside, it was Watkins who came off the bench to secure England's spot in the final with a late strike.

The Villa striker, one of five changes made by Gareth Southgate, replaced Kane in the 81st minute, with Palmer also coming on to swap places with Phil Foden at the same time.

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In a post-match interview with ITV Sport, Watkins recounted the conversation he had with Palmer just before their pivotal contribution: "Unbelievable. I've been waiting for that moment for weeks," said Watkins. "It's taken a lot of hard work to get to where I am now. I'm grateful I got the opportunity and I grabbed it with both hands and I'm delighted."

"I swear on my life, on my kids' lives, I said to Cole Palmer, 'We're coming on and you're going to set me up' and that's why I was so happy with Coley [Palmer], I knew as soon as he got the ball he was going to play me.

"You've got to be greedy, touch and shoot and when I see it going into the bottom corner it's the best feeling ever."

Watkins added: "There's been a lot of criticism but at the end of the day we're in the final and that's all that matters. Forget all the outside noise, we're in the final."

"We've got that kind of bounce-back factor, going a goal behind seems to kick us into gear. We never give up. We've won on penalties and come from behind. There's one more game now we're ready."