"Bringing on pacey players that just want to run forward, score more goals and it’s exciting. Everyone's got a big part to play."
Expanding on his thought process when not starting games, Watkins added: "Jude (Bellingham) was asking, 'What’s your mentality because you know you're not going to play?'
"I said I felt like there is no pressure on me to come on. People don't see me play, obviously they see Harry \[Kane\] playing, but I know what I can bring to the table.
"I watch the game when I'm on the bench, I can see the game opens up. It's a completely different game when you start a game of football to when you finish it.
"I've experienced that as a substitute. There's so many more opportunities when you come on, a lot of people are tired, they lose focus.
"Sometimes it can be better to be a substitute than to start a game.
"The most important thing is when we're on the bench, watch carefully what the opposition player is doing because when you come on the field, you get that opportunity to punish them."
Watkins was also full of praise for Harry Kane, who continued his incredible form with two more goals in the win over Croatia. The Bayern Munich striker, who is England's all-time record goalscorer, took his international tally to 81 at Dallas Stadium and also equalled Gary Lineker's record of 10 World Cup goals for the Three Lions in the process.
"I think with H \[Kane\], his performances speak for themselves, his goal record speaks for itself and he's very unique in the way that he plays," Watkins said.
"He's very intelligent and I can't play like him. I stick to what I can do, so I don't try to copy him or do anything like that. I stick to my strengths really."