'Fortune teller' Watkins a fairy tale for Three Lions

BERLIN - It is not known if England coach Gareth Southgate was fully in the loop when it comes to the bold pre-match agreement between Cole Palmer and Ollie Watkins.

After having scored the winning goal in the Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands, Watkins reported a secret pact between him and the Chelsea forward.

"I told him, you play the pass; I score the goal. No, that's the truth by the life of my children," the 28-year-old said about the encouraging messages from friends to stay calm and wait for his chance.

Magic or not, the England coach exactly picked the two in the dying minutes, and doors seemed open for the Three Lions fairytale.

Sunday's encounter against Spain in Berlin is the first final in history for England's squad on foreign soil after the side had lost the 2021 final to Italy on penalties at the previous Euro.

Somehow flying under the radar of the highest attention Watkins turned into a regular scorer for Villa. Now, the "Player of the Match" Watkins talked about the comeback factor in the game," indicating the resilience the Three Lions showed in Germany surviving two games with extra time and a penalty shootout.

Star striker Harry Kane, having scored the equalizer with a penalty, praised the team's spirit saying, "In crunch time, everyone is ready."

The Bayern forward might have referred to the teams' improvements in every game. "We show mentality," the former Tottenham attacker added.

As for Watkins, his most successful league season is behind him: "I played my best season in 2023-24."

The game-changer might return to the bench against Spain making him wait for another chance to write history. "We enjoy what happened, extremely as it is a great achievement," Watkins said.

But there easily might be more to come depending on further secret agreements between him and Palmer. "We got far, more than many expected, but we in the team always knew we could do better, improve, and head for Berlin," the England hero coming out of the blue said.

It seems more than a bold guess that Watkins is prepared to provide more surprising strikes only he and Palmer know of in advance.

"When Cole's pass came, I knew that's it, be quick, be determined, be exact," Watkins noted.

AP