Half-Korean teenager Casey Phair named to S. Korean Women's World Cup team

Casey Phair, a half-Korean teenage forward, was named to the South Korean national football team for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup on Wednesday.

At the National Football Center in Paju, some 40 kilometers northwest of Seoul, head coach Colin Bell unveiled his 23-player roster for the July 20-Aug. 20 tournament, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, along with two reserves.

Phair, born to an American father and a Korean mother in the United States, is the first player of mixed descent to make the senior South Korean women's national football squad.

Phair had a star turn for South Korea in April in the qualifiers for the 2024 Asian Football Confederation U-17 Women's Asian Cup. 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.

Phair had been training with the Players Development Academy in New Jersey before earning a callup to Bell's World Cup training camp late last month.

At 16, Phair is also the youngest player to represent South Korea at a World Cup.

Goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi is the oldest South Korean player ever at a World Cup, having earned her third selection at age 38.

She is one of five members on the current team with at least 100 international caps, led by midfielders Ji So-yun and Cho So-hyun, tied for the most appearances with 144 apiece.

The group also includes forward Park Eun-seon, who made her World Cup debut in 2003 as a 16-year-old.

Of Bell's 23 players, 14 have prior World Cup experience.

South Korea will host Haiti at 5 p.m. Saturday at Seoul World Cup Stadium for their final tuneup match before traveling Down Under.

South Korea will open Group H action against Colombia on July 25, followed by Morocco on July 30 and Germany on Aug. 3.

This is South Korea's fourth appearance at the Women's World Cup. They've been to the knockout stage once, reaching the round of 16 in Canada in 2015. (Yonhap)