Half-Korean football player Casey Yujin Phair made history at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Tuesday, a proud occasion for the teenager despite her team's opening defeat to Colombia in Group H play.
When Phair came on in the 78th minute of South Korea's 2-0 loss at Sydney Football Stadium, she became the youngest player ever in Women's World Cup at 16 years and 26 days. Born to a South Korean mother and an American father in South Korea, Phair also became the first player of mixed descent to play for South Korea at a World Cup match, male or female.
"I was very proud, very honored to be able to actually play wearing the Korean uniform," Phair said. "I thought it was a really great opportunity and I really appreciate the chance I was given. I felt kind of more pressured than I did at the beginning, so I was really nervous going in but I was able to settle in, I thought."
Phair said she had tried not to get ahead of herself and imagine herself playing for South Korea.
"So I kind of just cleared my head for the week before and I wasn't really expecting to play but I was really happy that I did," she said. "I was just kind of focused on the game but it went not as well as I would have hoped."
Phair had been generating plenty of buzz since being named to head coach Colin Bell's squad on July 5. Other than a brief scrum on the same day, Phair had been shielded from the prying eyes of the media. Bell had said he wanted to protect the teenager from dealing with extra media obligations, something Phair said Tuesday she appreciated.
"I appreciate it actually because I think so many pictures and interviews can be overwhelming," she said. "So I really appreciate what he's doing, keeping me at a low profile. He wants me to focus more on training and like the soccer aspect of it, not the media and the social."
Phair, whose parents are in town to follow the tournament, said it hadn't hit her yet what her debut for the Taegeuk Ladies meant.
"I think it means a lot but I just haven't seen anything. I haven't been on my phone because I'm kind of scared," she said. "I think it just makes me want to work harder in the future so I can be my best."
Bell said Phair deserved to have a chance to play against Colombia, given how hard she had worked in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
"Casey is the future. We need strong, fast players with the physicality," Bell said. "It's difficult for a player to come in at any time or at any age when you're 2-0 down to try and make an impact. And obviously then, you need the players around you to create something. That's what we need to work on. But I wanted to throw her in to give her that experience."
Phair had earlier played for South Korea's under-17 national team. She said she had enjoyed the Korean atmosphere in training camp and she had long decided it was the country she wanted to represent "because of how comfortable I felt with the team."
With the first match out of the way, Phair will now focus on helping South Korea win the next two and advance to the knockouts for only the second time in their Women's World Cup history.
"I think in the future, I just want to train as hard as I can," she said. "And I know that we're going to work really hard during training to win the next two games."
Source: Yonhap News Agency