Captain Phil Younghusband thrives in new role

Phil Younghusband. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

BOCAUE, Bulacan – Thrust into a new position, Phil Younghusband got rave reviews from coach Thomas Dooley.

“Outstanding,” Dooley said, referring to the performance of the Azkals leading scorer who dropped deep at midfield in the 2-1 win over Bahrain Thursday night.

READ: PH Azkals beat Bahrain to open World Cup qualifiers

Younghusband assisted on Misagh Bahadoran’s goal in the 50th minute.

But the 27-year-old admitted that he’s still learning on his new role.

“I gave the ball away a few times, but I’m always eager to get on the ball. That’s the more important thing. Whatever happens, you make an option for everyone and show that you’re confident with the ball,” he said. “I think the more and more I play on that role, the better I’ll get.”

Younghusband said the role demanded more from him physically.

“My body is hurting but the win makes it worth it. That’s probably the farthest I’ve got in my Azkals career. It was all worth it as long as we got the win. Everyone gave their 100-percent,” he said.

Younghusband was instrumental in the victory, assisting on the opening goal by Misagh Bahadoran in the 50th minute as he crossed the ball to the penalty box.

“Actually, I saw two guys: (Javier) Patiño and Misagh. I knew if I put it on a good area, one of them is going to get a good touch and Misagh got a fantastic touch,” he said. “It was good to have that first goal. If they had the first goal, it would have been a difficult game. I’m glad that we got the first goal and that gave us the confidence to get the second.”

The win gave the country the full three points in its opening match in Group H, and Younghusband believes that the win is just the morale boost the team needs as they square off against Yemen on June 16 in Doha, Qatar.

“We’ve beaten the second strongest team in our group, but Yemen will still be strong. This game will give us confidence going into that game, and we know it’s not going to be easy. There are no easy games especially in this group,” he said. CFC