South Korean Casey Phair who turned 16-years-old, 26 days ago, has become the youngest player ever to appear at the World Cup.
Phair, who has an American father and a South Korean mother on Tuesday, came on as a 78th-minute substitute in South Korea’s 2-0 loss to Colombia in Sydney, beating the record of Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine, who was 16 years and 34 days old at the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
“Going on, I was really, really nervous,” said Phair who spent 17 minutes in the game. “It was a scary moment, but then going on and running around, I think it just settled in.”
“I’m really proud and really honored to be the first mixed player for the Korean Federation”. “I really appreciate the opportunity I was given today”, she said
During her time on the field, she competed with Colombian players for possession at every chance she got and was near the ball at all times.
“She deserved the chance to play,” South Korea’s head coach Collin Bell said. “She trained really well, just as well as anybody. I wanted to throw her on to give her that experience.”
FIFA also reported that Tuesday’s Group H clash also saw another record broken – the 22 years and 256 days between Phair and South Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi is the biggest age gap between teammates in Women’s World Cup history
Reuters also reported that Casey Phair was the first player of mixed heritage to be selected for a Korean World Cup squad.
The South Korean Taegeuk Ladies will next face Morocco in Adelaide, Australia on Sunday, and Phair might get another opportunity to play in the World Cup again.
Phair is not the only young star in this year’s Women’s World Cup. Two other 16-year-old players are on squads for the tournament, although both were born in 2006. Giulia Dragoni started for Italy, wearing the No. 16, in its 1-0 win over Argentina on Monday, and Sheika Scott subbed in for Costa Rica in its 3-0 loss against Spain on Friday.
For the men’s side, Norman Whiteside is the youngest player to appear at the World Cup, when he represented Northern Ireland in 1982 at the age of 17 years and 41 days old.
