ENGLAND are once again in the Euros final following their victory against the Netherlands on Wednesday (July 10) thanks to Ollie Watkins’ last-gasp goal to secure a nail-biting 2-1 victory, but will they make history this time? The “mystic meerkats” at Drusillas believe they can.
The Netherlands scored an early goal but when England’s captain Harry Kane scored the penalty to equalise, momentum swung in England’s favour and they battled tenaciously against the Dutch defence.
Watkins became the hero of the night when he scored a goal just before the end of normal time, taking England to the final where they will face an in form Spain team on Sunday.
England reached the final of the Euros last time when they lost to Italy in a penalty shoot-out.
The Three Lions have suffered major tournament heartbreak on several occasions with their last success going way back in 1966 when a Geoff Hurst hat-trick secured a 4-2 win over West Germany.
However, hopes are high that England captain Kane and his team can finally break the hoodoo and ensure that finally “football is coming home”.
Using their “psychic powers”, the meerkat mob at Drusillas Park have once again predicted another England win, but they think it will be a close match.
It was a very close-run thing, with the cute furries showing a lot of interest in the Spanish bucket too, showing Sunday’s final could be down to the wire, with a narrow victory for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Perhaps unsurprising, given that the Spanish squad are the bookie’s favourite to win the Euros.
But at ‘full time’ there were more meerkats surrounding the England bucket, showing the soothsayers believe that England will be the ones lifting the trophy on Sunday night.
The “mystic meerkats” became an internet sensation in both this Euros and the men’s tournament in 2021, with a perfect prediction record, and keepers are hoping they maintain their winning streak with another correct forecast for this weekend’s final.
The special method involves two buckets of nuts, peas, and sweetcorn (favourite meerkat snacks), each with a team’s flag on.
The buckets are placed down before the meerkats are released and left to choose which bucket they would prefer to eat from. The bucket surrounded by the most meerkats is then declared the predicted winner.
Although it might seem a strange activity for meerkats, the activity forms part of the zoo’s daily enrichment programme, which makes sure all the animals enjoy a diverse diet in imaginative and unusual ways.
The activities encourage them to think and work for their food, as they would in the wild, and it’s now become a bit of a tradition at the zoo and the meerkats run over excitedly when they see the buckets.
Zoo Section Leader Jacinta Dawe said: “The mystic meerkats have done an amazing job with their forecasts so far this Euros and we’re keeping everything crossed that their final prediction comes true.
“We’re so proud of the England team and it would be wonderful if this tournament ended on a high, with the Lions bringing the Euros Cup home.
“Spain are the favourites, so I don’t think it’s surprising that the meerkats showed a lot of interest in their bucket too.
“We believe this means it could be another match when we’re on the edge of our seats for 90 minutes!
“But in the end, more meerkats settled on the England bucket, showing that they are sure it will be a victory for Gareth Southgate’s squad when the final whistle blows.
“But it looks like it will be a narrow win, so we’ll be cheering on England with everything we’ve got on Sunday. Come on England, the Drusillas team and the Mystic Meerkats are rooting for you!”
 thanks to Ollie Watkins' last-gasp goal to secure a nail-biting 2-1 victory, but will they make history this time? The "mystic meerkats" at Drusillas believe they can.){kind=link}