Ollie Watkins has described his England omission as a “blessing in disguise” after scoring 11 goals in 12 games to force his way into the World Cup squad.
- Watkins was dropped from Tuchel’s squad in March after a difficult start to the season
- He then scored 11 goals in 12 matches giving the England manager no option but to take him
- The 30-year-old revealed pre-season physical issues had been affecting his form and mindset
- Watkins insists he is now “the best I have ever been” physically heading into the tournament
“Something gets taken away and you realise how important it is”
Ollie Watkins has never been one to hide behind excuses. His post-season honesty about the England omission and the physical issues that contributed to his difficult opening to the campaign reflects the self-awareness that has defined his approach throughout an extraordinary season.
“My form was picking up but it was a blessing in disguise,” Watkins told the media ahead of England’s first training session in the United States. “Sometimes when something gets taken away from you, you realise how important it is. It puts fire in your belly and makes you show people what you can do. It was a case of proving to myself what I could do.” That specific framing proving it to himself first, not to others captures the internal motivation that drove eleven goals in twelve matches following the omission.
His tribute to Tuchel was equally generous. “The manager always had faith in me. So it is nice I could repay him with the performances and goals and to show I deserved to be here.” The combination of personal motivation and gratitude for sustained managerial belief reflects a player who responded to adversity in exactly the right way.
The physical admission. Rare honesty from a Premier striker
The most revealing element of Watkins’ comments concerned the pre-season physical issues that contributed to his slow start. Eight goals from 39 appearances in the first two-thirds of the season represented a return well below his established standards. Villa supporters noticed. Critics questioned. The England manager acted.
“Before the start of the season, physically, I was not at my best,” Watkins admitted. “When you are not feeling it, a player like me has to be agile, moving around, doing repeated sprints. If I am not feeling at my best, that is my superpower and that was playing with my mind.” That specific observation, identifying his explosive physical qualities as his primary weapon and acknowledging their absence, confirms a player with deep and intelligent self-knowledge.
His admission that getting older was “something I had to deal with and overcome” adds a further dimension of honesty. At 30, Watkins is managing his body with the intelligence of a player who understands that sustained elite output requires proactive physical management rather than simply relying on youth. He shifted that mentally and the results were emphatic.
The form that changed everything
The numbers following the England omission are extraordinary. Eleven goals in twelve matches. Two against Liverpool. A brace that secured Villa’s Europa League semi-final progress. Crucial contributions in the final against Freiburg. Twenty-one goals across the entire season, his best Villa return. The omission did not break him. It rebuilt him.
That specific run of form gave Tuchel no choice. Players who score eleven goals in twelve matches at the business end of a Champions League qualification campaign and a Europa League winning run simply cannot be omitted from a World Cup squad. Watkins made the selection inevitable.
“The best I have ever been”. World Cup ambitions
His assessment of his current physical condition was the most encouraging statement of the entire interview. “I feel like, physically, I am the best I have ever been. My form in front of goal is really good. I am feeling really strong.” For a 30-year-old striker who spent the first half of the season managing physical doubts, that specific declaration carries enormous weight.
England play friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica in Florida before their opening Group L fixture against Croatia on Wednesday 17 June. Watkins is ready, and ready to prove once again that the best responses to setbacks come through goals and performances rather than words.
ReadAstonVilla Verdict
Watkins’ story this season is one of the most compelling individual narratives in the entire Premier League. Physical doubts. England omission. Eleven goals in twelve games. Europa League glory. World Cup squad confirmed. He said it himself, proving it to himself mattered most. He did that. And now he heads to the World Cup as one of England’s most in-form and most dangerous strikers.
