Leeds United’s exciting young talent Darko Gyabi, has spoken of his pride at representing England at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, saying it’s really a dream come true for him.
The promising midfielder was in action for the English under-20s who made a winning start to their FIFA U20 World Cup campaign, as Dane Scarlett’s first-half goal secured victory over Tunisia.
Gyabi, who signed for Leeds in the summer from Manchester City, says: “Everybody knows something big is coming and even though we’re all young, we understand the opportunity that we’ve got. There’s definitely an element of excitement around the camp.”
Gyabi has been in the England pathway since his early-to-mid teens, having impressed enough at Millwall for Manchester City to sign him at the age of 14.
The midfielder captained the MU19s during their Under-19 EURO qualifying campaign earlier this season before being promoted to the MU20s for this tournament.
Gyabi, who made three senior appearances for Leeds this season, said: “It’s definitely important to have a club team-mate here to help make me feel comfortable. I’ve been playing with Mateo this whole season, so we spend a lot of time together and coming here is something big.
“But I also know some of the boys from my previous clubs and even just from playing against them. So, it’s not been too hard for me to be comfortable and speak to the other players.”
England MU20s, which largely consists of the players and staff who won last year’s Under-19 EURO, will kick off their Group E campaign against Tunisia on Monday before facing Uruguay on Thursday 25 May and then Iraq on Sunday 28 May (all 7pm BST kick-off times).
The top two nations and four best third-place teams will then qualify from the six groups for the round of 16.
“Everything’s been good so far,” Gyabi said.
“We had our first training session on Thursday just to get all the travelling out of our legs and everything’s been good so far.
“The setup here is pretty good. We’ve got a social room and everyone has their room and is settled now, so it’s really nice.
“I’m definitely excited and it’s such a great opportunity. I’m very proud to be here and we just need to be ready for whatever comes.”
