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South Korea’s Casey Phair Debuts As Youngest Player Ever in Women’s World Cup

She entered the game in the second half and instantly made history.

Madison Williams

South Korea’s Casey Phair Debuts As Youngest Player Ever in Women’s World Cup
South Korea’s Casey Phair Debuts As Youngest Player Ever in Women’s World Cup /

A 16-year-old American soccer player, Casey Yu-jin Phair, made women’s World Cup history on Monday night when she entered the game for South Korea in the second half vs. Colombia.

After turning 16 on June 29, Phair became the youngest women's player to ever compete in the World Cup at 16 years and 26 days old. The previous record was held by Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine when she competed in the 1999 World Cup at 16 years and 34 days old.

Phair is also the first South Korean player of mixed heritage to play on the senior team. Her mother is Korean, while her dad is American. Phair currently resides in New Jersey, where she trains with the Players Development Academy.

South Korea will compete next on Saturday vs. Morocco. Then, they will face Germany the following Thursday.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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