July 12 – King Charles congratulated England for their last-gasp 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final on Wednesday but joked he hoped the final would be less nerve-wracking.
Substitute Ollie Watkins scored in the 91st minute to send England through to its second successive European Championship final after beating the Dutch in an exhilarating encounter.
With the match looking set for extra time, Watkins received a pass from fellow sub-Cole Palmer and fired a sweet strike into the far corner.
“My wife and I join all our family in wishing you the warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the UEFA European Championship – and in sending our very best wishes for Sunday’s match,” the King said in a message on the royal family’s official Instagram to England coach Gareth Southgate and his players.
“If I may encourage you to secure victory before the need for any last-minute wonder goals or another penalties drama, I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated! Good luck, England.”
England fully deserved to beat the Dutch over 90 minutes but if ever the old adage that you need luck to win any competition rings true, England have taken full advantage.
They were placed in the easier half of the draw, needed a 95th-minute equaliser to avoid being humiliated by Slovakia with seconds to go, penalties to beat Switzerland in the quarterfinals and another late, late winner to reach the final with the match heading for extra time.
Despite getting better and better as the tournament has progressed, they have also needed a couple of crucial refereeing decisions to go their way, not least the penalty from which they equalised against the Dutch following Denzel Dumfries’ so-called challenge on Harry Kane
Dutch lynchpin Virgil van Dijk launched a tirade towards referee Felix Zwayer for allowing the penalty that involved a VAR check and was slammed by pundits and fans alike – even in the UK.
“Certain moments were obvious that they should have gone our way, but they didn’t, whatever the outcome,” said Van Dijk. “It’s difficult to accept this, I’m pulling in the emotions. They keep changing certain things, small changes that could have big impacts but maybe it’s a good thing that they could be held accountable as well?”
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman also slammed Zwayer in his post-match press conference. “This is not a penalty. His only intention was to block a shot. Harry Kane then shoots and their feet collide. Football is getting broken with these type of calls.”
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