As the first player of mixed heritage to be named to the South Korean women's senior national football team, Casey Phair said Wednesday she was "honored" with the opportunity to represent the country of her mother's birth.
"I feel really proud and honored to be given this opportunity," she told reporters at the National Football Center in Paju, 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, moments after head coach Colin Bell named her as one of 23 players for the FIFA Women's World Cup.
"And I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help the country," Phair added.
Having turned 16 last Thursday, Phair is also the youngest player to make a South Korean team for a FIFA World Cup, male or female.
Phair, born to an American father and a Korean mother in the United States, previously played for South Korea in April this year, at the 2024 Asian Football Confederation U-17 Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. She grabbed a brace in South Korea's 16-0 rout of Tajikistan, and then scored a hat trick to help South Korea beat Hong Kong 12-0.
"I think my strengths on the field are my speed and my physical strength and I think I can bring one by one attacking with speed on the sides," Phair said.
Bell insisted Phair will not be merely a sideshow.
"She's selected because I think she can help the team now, like every other player," Bell said. "She's in the squad on merit. She deserves to be selected, based on her performance."
In particular, Bell noted Phair's "good physicality" and her ability to finish with both feet.
"She learns very quickly and she has presented herself very well," the coach said. "She is going not as a passenger but as a valuable member of the squad. She has every chance of getting into the team."
Bell said he had intentionally shielded Phair from the media for the past three or so weeks since training camp opened at the NFC.
"As far as I am concerned, she's still a kid and it's my duty to protect her, so she could just blossom and really fulfill her potential," Bell said. "We're taking care of her."
Phair was made available for a scrum for the first time Wednesday, moments after Bell's announcement. But continuing with his theme of protecting the player, Bell stood next to Phair as she took only two questions from the media and spoke for less than a minute.
Phair will be one of two teenagers on the team set to compete at the big tournament in Australia, joined by the 18-year-old forward Bae Ye-bin. Chun Garam, a 20-year-old forward, is another young face on a team featuring five veterans with at least 100 international caps each.
Bell noted these young players are "pushing the older, experienced players."
"I want to have that competition," the coach added. (Yonhap)
