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England striker Ollie Watkins has said that he "wasn't shocked" by his dramatic semifinal-winning goal against Netherlands and that he has "fire in my belly" to reproduce his heroics in Sunday's European Championship final against Spain.
The 28-year-old scored a memorable 90th-minute winner in Wednesday's semifinal with just his fourth touch of the game after he was introduced as a substitute by manager Gareth Southgate with nine minutes of normal time remaining.
Watkins' goal in the 2-1 win ensured that England will play in the final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time in the county's history when they face Spain in Berlin.
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"It's been an unbelievable feeling to be honest," Watkins told a news conference on Friday. "I was taken back by the goal, but also I wasn't shocked that I did that really because I have full belief in myself.
"I knew when I was going onto the pitch that I was going to score, I manifested it. I'd worked very hard to get to that point, so it's been an amazing feeling, but I'm not shocked.
"I've got that fire in my belly ready whenever I'm called upon and hopefully I get the call to come onto the pitch again and then hopefully I can produce."
Spain winger Lamine Yamal, who celebrates his 17th birthday on Saturday, has been one of the tournament's outstanding individuals and Watkins admitted that England will need to be wary of a player he described as a "generational talent."
Asked if he could remember how he spent his 17th birthday, Watkins said: "I definitely wasn't preparing for a final, I can tell you that. He's an unbelievable talent. Everybody has seen what he can do. Generational talent.
Ollie Watkins scored a 90th-minute winner for England against Netherlands on Wednesday to send Gareth Southgate's team into the final of Euro 2024 where they will face Spain. Visionhaus/Getty Images
"It is not often that you are scoring goals against France in the top corner in the semi-final of the Euros when you're 16. Obviously he's got the world at his feet and he's miles ahead of me where I was at 16, 17.
"With social media and all the hype, being at Barcelona and playing for Spain, there's a lot of hype around him. For me, I feel like you have to have a good close knit group of people around you to keep you grounded and focused. I feel I have that around me, keep me on the straight and narrow and be there as a sounding board."
Watkins added that England need find a way to deal with Spain captain Rodri. The Manchester City midfielder very rarely loses a game and only saw his 79-match unbeaten run ended by Manchester United in the FA Cup final on May 25.
Asked who he felt is Spain's key player, Watkins said: "I would definitely say Rodri, just from his experience of, obviously what he's won at Man City and he's very crucial for the build up for them defensively. I feel like he dictates games with the way he plays, so I feel like Rodri is the main man for them."
If England were win their first European Championship title on Sunday, Watkins admitted that he would be up for teammate Kyle Walker's idea for the squad to get matching tattoos to commemorate the occasion.
"I haven't got any tattoos, but I think I'd join in on that one. I think I'd go for the tattoo one. Yeah, I think it's good," he said.
Source: espn.co.uk