England will play Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final after navigating their way past the Netherlands in the semi-finals.
England secured a 2-1 win over the Dutch on Wednesday, with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer yet again making a positive impact off the bench for his country.
Palmer, 22, continues to be exclusively used by Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate as a substitute in this tournament.
The Chelsea attacker came off the bench yesterday against the Netherlands for the final 10 minutes and assisted Ollie Watkins’ 90th-minute winning goal.
Micah Richards hails Cole Palmer assist
Micah Richards described the pass from Palmer to create the Watkins goal as “perfect”.
“We know Cole Palmer can pass. We know he can shoot,” Richards said on The Rest Is Football.
“It was the weight of the ball that was perfect [for Ollie Watkins] and the timing of the run.”
It was a decent forward pass between the lines from Palmer to find Watkins, but full credit goes to the England striker for his goal because there was still so much to do with his finish from a tight angle
The Chelsea Chronicle predicts that Palmer will have to make do again with a spot on the bench against Spain in the final.
However, he’s the individual that Southgate needs to turn to if there’s struggles against the Spaniards.
Chelsea player on the brink of magical season
Of course, Palmer’s not played as much football in this tournament for England as he would have liked.
But there’s no doubt that the left-footed attacking playmaker is regularly impacting games positively as a substitute.
There’s still time for him to grab legendary status in the final, too.
It would finish a truly sensational 2023/24 campaign for Palmer if he becomes a European champion.
He must reflect on the decision to join Chelsea last summer as a complete masterstroke.
The youngster score 25 goals and made 15 assists in 45 Chelsea games during his debut year, which by the end of the weekend could now finish with a trophy for England.
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