Phil Younghusband clinched the 2012 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup’s top scorer title after Pak Nam Chol failed to score when DPR Korea defended its title against Turkmenistan, 2-1, in Kathmandu Nepal.
Younghusband scored a total of six goals, three more than Pak Nam Chol. He scored his first two goals against India and one against Tajikistan in the group stages of the tournament. He added one more during the semifinals match against Turkmenistan and capped his goal tally with two during the Philippine Azkals’ fight for third match against Palestine.
“I was not expecting to become the tournament’s top goal scorer. My expectations was for the team to enter the semifinals and the award as top goal scorer is a bonus. It feels good,” said Younghusband.
This is the first time that Younghusband got such an award in a major international men’s tournament.
Younghusband and the rest of the Philippine Azkals, together with coach Hans Michael Weiss and team manager Dan Palami, stayed for a couple of hours at the VIP lounge of the Mactan Cebu International Airport yesterday during a stopover from Nepal enroute to Manila.
Younghusband said that the team sorely missed the services of his older brother James, Angel Guirado and Jason Sabio during the semifinals against Turkmenistan.
He said that they could have won but that it was just unfortunate that James collected two yellow cards.
Weiss agreed, saying that if the three had played, they could have gone on to the finals.
He added that the guys who played in their place were not used to the side positions and their pace.
Weiss said that he is happy about the team being in the top 4 of the AFC Challenge Cup 2012.
“I was talking to the coach of DPR Korea and we got the biggest of respect from them, he said the team was sensational,” Weiss said.
Palami, for his part, said after their experience in Nepal, he believes that the Philippines is very ready to host the AFC Challenge Cup.