England 2-1 Netherlands: And England are on their way to Berlin!

When the final whistle of referee Felix Zwayer sounded, all the English players hugged each other in happiness, and in the stands, thousands of English fans celebrated. They had won, had gone through 6 matches, and now they were only 1 match away from the Championship Cup, which was also the most difficult, most stressful match, requiring the most strength and determination.

Contrary to what people thought of them, what we saw in the first half showed, this is not the England team we know. The England team of the previous five matches was a collection of sleepy football, pragmatism and the brilliance of the stars at the most tense moments. They only won one match in 90 minutes, and the last 16 and quarter-final matches both went to extra time and penalties. This England team was different, playing well from the start, attacking and controlling the ball, fiercely contesting, playing the kind of football they used to apply in the early years of Gareth Southgate's reign. It was a great first half with two goals and two hits on goal, long-range strikes from Xavi Simons and Harry Kane, and situations that showed how dangerous Phil Foden can be when he is given more freedom to roam, with long-range shots (once hitting the post) and runs (his shot was saved by Denzel Dumfries on the line).

But in the second half, Southgate's previous rough and pragmatic nature returned. The orange waves surged forward and attacked, attacked, attacked, while the whites defended, until Southgate began to bring on Cole Palmer and Olie Watkins to prepare for the final minutes, when Kane and Foden as well as Jude Bellingham were "invisible" as usual. His team had won that way before, with goals after the 80th minute. They were just waiting for the Netherlands to show their haste and impatience. And the goal came after a series of dream combinations to make Watkins the hero with only 2 minutes of normal time left. More stubborn and brave, like a fox waiting for its prey to be vulnerable to pounce, England defeated the Netherlands that way, in their best match since the beginning of the tournament.

Now they are in Berlin, a day after Spain booked their one-way ticket there. They are up against the best, most entertaining, most prolific team so far and Spain are unsurprisingly favourites, but Southgate knows what to do with his team, how to turn them into a winning machine in the most pragmatic way, despite the criticism and backlash from a public that has now turned to him. The meeting point is Berlin and England’s aim is to win. England have only won the World Cup once, 58 years ago in 1966, and have never won a European Championship. They have never reached a final outside their own island. England last met Spain in the quarter-finals of EURO 1996 on home soil and won on penalties, their last penalty shootout victory before beating Switzerland on penalties at this EURO.

The painful past is over, now is the time to fight for victory.