Watkins scored the winning goal in added time to give England a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands and advance to the knockout stages where they will face Spain.
Euro Soccer : In the early hours of July 11th Beijing time, after England beat the Netherlands to advance to the European Cup final, the Spanish Daily Sports pointed out that Watkins has become England's new savior. This player is also a masterpiece created by Spain's manager Emery. In the semi-final against the Netherlands, the Aston Villa striker was the decisive factor in the game, scoring the winning goal in the dying seconds of the game.
There was a sense of unease in the stands when the fourth official held up the number 9 sign in the 81st minute. Southgate made the controversial decision to replace Kane with Watkins. But football is always full of unpredictable storylines, and the final result confirmed that Southgate was right.
The game looked set to go into extra time when Watkins suddenly stepped up and showed his trademark style, smashing the ball into Verbruggen's goal from a tight angle and sending the England fans into a frenzy.
England's new hero shot to fame at Dortmund and led England to the final where they faced Spain for final glory Watkins began his career in England.
Watkins' career began in England but his path to the Premier League was relatively slow, initially being discovered by Brentford in England's lower leagues before spending three seasons in the Championship where he proved he had the makings of a Premier League side.
Aston Villa gave him the chance to make a breakthrough, and the now 24-year-old quickly adapted to the rhythm of England's top flight. Year after year, Watkins maintained a consistent scoring rate: 16 goals in his first season, 11 in his second and 16 again in his third season.
Under Emery's tutelage, Watkins scored 27 goals across all competitions (19 of which were in the Premier League) and provided 13 assists, and as the team's overall performance improved, so did his individual performances, ultimately helping Aston Villa beat out many strong teams to qualify for the Champions League.
Watkins will undoubtedly be a threat to the opposition in the upcoming match against Spain, and although he may come on as a substitute, his flexibility, speed, active movement and shooting accuracy will be a real threat to Luis de la Fuente's team.