Casey Phair facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 June 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | South Korea | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| National team‡ | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2023– | South Korea U-17 | 2 | (5) |
| 2023– | South Korea | 4 | (3) |
|
† Appearances (Goals). |
|||
Casey Yu-Jin Phair (Korean: 케이시 유진 페어; born 29 June 2007) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a forward for the South Korea women's national team. She was the youngest player to ever feature in a FIFA Women's World Cup, having made her debut in the tournament in 2023, at the age of 16 years and 26 days old.
A Korean–American who lives in the United States, Phair was also the first multiracial footballer to ever receive a call-up to the South Korea women's national team.
Early life and high school career
Phair was born in South Korea to an American father and South Korean mother. Her family moved to the United States when she was one month old. Formerly residing in Exeter, New Hampshire, she then moved to Warren Township, New Jersey, where she subsequently started playing soccer at the Pingry School, and training at the Players Development Academy (PDA) in New Jersey.
International career
Phair played for the South Korea under-17 team before she was called up to the senior team for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. She helped the under-17 team qualify for the 2024 AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup, scoring two goals against Tajikistan and three goals against Hong Kong.
At the 2023 Women's World Cup, Phair became the youngest player to ever appear in a senior World Cup— men’s or women’s— at the age of 16 years and 26 days, coming on as a substitute in South Korea's opening game against Colombia on 25 July 2023; the distinction had been previously held by Ifeanyi Chiejine. In the process, she also became the youngest footballer to have reportedly won a cap for a women's senior national team, a record that was later broken by Una Rankić in September of the same year. Phair played in all three of South Korea's group stage matches and went on to make her first start in the team's final match against Germany, which ended in a 1–1 draw.
On 26 October 2023, Phair scored her first senior goal, as well as her first hat-trick, in a 10–1 win over Thailand in the second round of the 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament: in the process, at 16 years and 119 days of age, she became the second youngest goalscorer in the history of the South Korean women's senior national team, behind only Ji So-yun. She also became the youngest player to ever score a hat-trick for any South Korean national team, including both men's and women's football.
Career statistics
International
| National Team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 2023 | 4 | 3 |
| Total | 4 | 3 | |
- Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Phair goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 October 2023 | Xiamen Egret Stadium, Xiamen, China |  Thailand |
1–0 | 10–1 | 2024 AFC Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament | |
| 2 | 6–0 | ||||||
| 3 | 7–0 |
