JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — After joining two of his brothers on the Honduras team, Jerry Palacios says he’s playing the World Cup for the brother they lost.

Edwin Palacios, the youngest of Honduras’ football-playing brothers, was kidnapped and murdered three years ago.

“He is an angel,” Jerry Palacios said yesterday ahead of Honduras’ Group H clash with Spain. “He always gives us strength. When we’re down we feel that he’s with us. And that’s additional motivation for the family.”

When Jerry joined the squad at the last moment to replace injured midfielder Julio Cesar de Leon, Honduras made World Cup history by becoming the first team to have three brothers in a World Cup squad.

Already on the team were 25-year-old midfielder Wilson Palacios, who plays for Tottenham, and Johnny Palacios, a 23-year-old defender from Olimpia Tegucigalpa.

Edwin played briefly for Honduras’ Under-23 team and the Under-17s. He was 16 when he was abducted in 2007 from his family home in La Ceiba, Honduras. The kidnappers killed him even though his family paid the demanded $500,000 ransom.

“He is always in our thoughts. Everything we do is dedicated to him,” Jerry Palacios said. “Hopefully, where he is, he’s proud of what we’re doing.”

The love for the sport runs deep in the family. The oldest brother, Milton, plays in the Honduran league, but didn’t make the national team. Their father, Eulogio Palacios, was also a footballer.

“Here in South Africa I’m the oldest,” said Jerry Palacios, 28. “But in Honduras we have Milton, who also plays professionally. He’s not here in the squad right now. So here in South Africa I’m in charge.”