Younghusbands out of Azkals friendly in Laos to commemorate mum’s death

InterAKTV/Roy Afable

The Philippine national men’s football team will miss Phil and James Younghusband in its friendly against Laos on Monday as the brothers flew back to Manila.

The Azkals stars will commemorate the first death anniversary of their mother, Susan, on Sunday. She succumbed to a heart attack last year at the age of 49.

“Unfortunately, we will miss the game against Laos but this is an important day for our family and we have spoken with management and they understand,” said James.

Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss said their absence would not be an issue for the squad.

“The brothers and myself have had many meetings and this was agreed upon that they would miss the Laos game. We made it clear with each other a while ago and there is no problem,” he said.

Phil, meanwhile, assured their commitment to the Azkals despite their absence for the Laos match.

“We remain fully committed to the national team and look forward to rejoining them in other preparations for the Suzuki Cup late this year,” he said.

Laos is the third date in the Azkals’ three-nation Southeast Asian tour. They were held to a scoreless draw by Cambodia last Wednesday before bouncing back by ripping Singapore, 2-0, Friday. The tour is part of the team’s preparation for the 2012 ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup.

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