The US-born teenager 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.
The Group H clash Tuesday 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, according to FIFA.
Phair is the first player of mixed heritage to be selected for a Korean World Cup squad, according to Reuters. After announcing her selection, South Korea coach Colin Bell said it was his duty to protect the teenager from the glare of publicity. The New Jersey teen previously represented the country at the youth level in the qualifiers for the 2024 U-17 Women’s Asian Cup.
Phair had been training with the Players Development Academy in Central Jersey when she was called to play by both the U.S. and South Korean national teams. Attributing her choice to her strong connection to her mother’s South Korean heritage, Phair opted to play for South Korea despite the team having only made three World Cup appearances before 2023.
According to the Internet
