Watkins labels Lamine Yamal as 'generational talent' ahead of England v Spain match

England legend Ollie Watkins believes Spain duo Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal present a major threat in the Euro 2024 finals and has called the Barcelona midfielder “the talent of a generation”.

Watkins powered England into Sunday's showpiece with a stunning win, with the final distance against the Netherlands on Wednesday. They will now face a Spanish team that is considered by many observers to be the dominant team in this tournament.

Their attack mainly comes from wide areas with Williams and Yamal from Athletic Bilbao.

The latter turns 17 on Saturday and Watkins is impressed with what he has achieved at such a young age.

The Aston Villa striker said: “He is a generational talent, you don't always score for France at the age of 16. He is the best in the world. You are miles ahead of me when I was 17.

“With the social media and the hype, being in Barcelona and Spain, there is a lot of tension around him. You need people around you to keep you focused and focused.”

Everything is white 🤍

I #Three Lions he will wear white shirts, white shorts and white socks on Sunday #EURO2024 last time with Spain! pic.twitter.com/MjvB5GOj9y

– England (@England) July 12, 2024

Stop the young players, stop Spain?

Watkins stated that he feels that England have more threats from different positions than Spain.

“It's clear that the Spanish players are strong, young and full of confidence,” he added. “In all our team, we have goals from everywhere, it will be an interesting game to watch and be a part of. I hope we can finish the job.

“I feel like we are very strong. Spain had tough matches and had to go through a tougher journey than us, [against] so-called big groups. I see what the manager is saying, I think they have been the best team in this competition so far.”

This is the 28-year-old Watkins' first major tournament and he is trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

“I was talking to Harry Kane this morning at breakfast. I try to soak in all these moments as they don't come often,” she said.

“We're in a little bubble, you move on to the next thing. We quickly returned to the bus playing Uno [after the semi-final], ready for the next game. Now we focus on the finals. It's back to camp and stay focused.”