Sonny Perkins struggled to make his mark for England Under-19s on Saturday as Simon Rusk’s side lost 1-0 against Iceland. It was a difficult afternoon for the Three Lions at the New York Stadium in Rotherham as their hopes of qualifying for the European Championships in Malta were dealt a sizeable blow.
Orri Oskarsson’s second half penalty was the only thing that split the two teams on the day and that leaves the U19s needing a win against Turkey at Chesterfield next week and hoping other results go their way in the qualifying group. Unfortunately, skipper and Leeds United midfielder Darko Gyabi was suspended for the clash after picking up another yellow card last time out against Hungary and therefore, he wasn’t included at all.
Perkins was involved, though, stepping into the fray in the 71st minute as a second-half substitute as England were pushing hard for an equaliser. However, despite leading the line, he struggled to find the space he needed to make an impact in the game.
The striker did drop deep on occasion to get his foot on the ball, but he couldn’t escape the clutches of a resolute Icelandic backline long enough to provide much of a threat to goal, with his best moment being a header into that box that almost dropped for a teammate to strike. The decision to omit Perkins from the starting line-up was made to manage his game time, Rusk admitted after the game, but the England chief will be keen to see him make more of an impact on Tuesday night.
“Sonny didn’t quite make the starting XI today because he’s had a heavy schedule,” Rusk told LeedsLive after the game. “I think he’s been out injured a few weeks before. Four games in 10 days when you’re coming back from injury is quite a big ask.
“He came into the game today at a time when we were chasing it. Sonny is a goalscorer and unfortunately he didn’t find that moment today.
“I think (he’s feeling confident), when we get the lads in everyone is arriving in slightly different places emotionally with what’s going on with their seasons but hopefully Sonny will be energised and he’ll play a part in an important game on Tuesday.”
Rusk will be pleased to see Gyabi come back into the fold for the U19s final qualifying game, too, after admitting his absence was felt against Iceland.
“Darko’s a great lad,” he added. “He was a miss for us today so he’ll be disappointed that he’s missed the game today and not be able to contribute. He’s good to work with.”
Asked whether Gyabi would feature against Turkey, Rusk added: “We’ll have to look at things over the next day two and then make a call on that.”
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