Aston Villa striker Watkins, 28, produced a moment of magic to send Gareth Southgate’s men into a final against Spain in Berlin with a 90th-minute strike.
After the game, ex-England captain Beckham posted on his Instagram story: “That’s why they call it a TEAM.
“What a moment ❤️. 🏴 Well done Ollie @england.”
Watkins, who appeared on Lions’ Den, was grateful for the shout-out but also joked about Beckham not tagging him.
He said: “Any chance of a tag? Send him my [Instagram handle].”
But after a playful comment, he then went on to sincerely thank the former Manchester United man.
He added: “I had his boots [as a kid], I had his preds [predators].
“It’s nice that he can do that [send me a message]. Obviously he scored a memorable goal [the free-kick against Greece], so now I’ve done something similar – [but] I think his was better.”
Watkins had played just 20 minutes at the Euros before he came off the bench against the Dutch.
But he scored within nine minutes of being brought on to send England to Berlin.
Watkins’ mum Delsi-May called on Southgate to play her son after their quarter-final win over Switzerland.
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And following his special goal, the Villa forward revealed he had predicted his winning moment.
Watkins, who was assisted by Cole Palmer, said: “The ball came into me, hold up is not the strongest side of my game but the goal was my bread and butter.
“I said to Cole Palmer we were both going to go on the pitch and he would set me up and it happened.
“You don’t get that opportunity very often and I had to be greedy and take the shot. I don’t think I have hit the ball so sweet like that before.”
