The 2023 Women’s World Cup was notable for a number of reasons, many of which are not even related to what is happening in the stadiums in Australia and New Zealand. For example, it is the first Women’s World Cup with two hosts; It’s also the first edition with an expanded stadium of 32 teams, which resulted in some amazing upsets (Colombia over Nigeria, anyone?) and some great individual performances.
Also notable is the number of newcomers in the larger field, with eight nations – Haiti, Republic of Ireland, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia – appearing in their first ever World Cup finals. Jamaica and South Africa reached the last 16 for the first time in their respective history, but we also saw the youngest player ever to play in a World Cup (men’s or women’s) when South Korean Casey Fair took the field on July 25.
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Fer is one of three 16-year-olds – along with Italian midfielder Giulia Dragoni and Costa Rican striker Sherica Scott – who have made waves at this tournament, each stepping up for their country and entering the limelight with aplomb and confidence. composure beyond their years. Although all three nations failed to escape the group stage, the emergence of this trio shows just how bright the future is for women’s football across the world.
Casey Fair: “If you work hard from a young age, you can make it to the biggest stage”
Amid well-known teams like Tottenham, Brighton, Hyundai Steel Red Angels and Suwon FC in South Korea’s national team roster, there is one player who is credited with the ‘Player Development Academy’. The academy develops players from the Under-9 to Under-19 level, and has two alumni in this tournament along with one current scholar: Casey Phair.
In the midst of a disappointing World Cup run – South Korea lost twice, then Germany drew 1-1 and eliminated a pre-tournament favorite in the group stage for the first time ever – is a slice of history and why. optimism. On 25 July, Fire became the youngest player in World Cup history – men’s or women’s – when she took to the pitch in the 78th minute against Colombia at the age of 16 years and 28 days, beating Nigeria’s Ifenei Chegin’s previous record in 1999 by eight days.
South Korea manager Colin Bell knew this would be a moot point. Fire scored five goals in two matches while on Under-17 duty in Tajikistan in April, and her form in the pre-tournament training camp in Bago earned her a place in the Final 23. From the outset, he tried to shield her from the inevitable attention, which was accentuated by the fact that she was the first player to Mixed races representing the national team.
“As far as I’m concerned she’s still a child and it’s my job to protect her so she can thrive and truly achieve her potential,” Bell said. “We look after her, she’s been taken well to the team. She’s on the team on merit. She deserves, on her performance, to be selected.”
Bell said she wasn’t going to be a “rider” and wanted her to bring the “competition,” something she certainly has done since her call-up. She even celebrated her 16th birthday in Paju – her classmates brought her a cake, and sang happy birthday to her in Korean and English. Subsequently, Phair was named to the final lineup.
Fayre was born in South Korea, but her parents, Shin and Hae Young, moved to the United States when she was two months old. (Her parents traveled to see a play, while her two brothers stayed in the States.) Those who have watched closely her development have seen her transition from defense to striker, and have witnessed her incredible speed and physicality for her age.
Then came the moment when Veer made history.
“I wanted to cast her to give her that experience, and as a sign to everyone on our team that these kind of guys are the future,” Bell said afterwards. On a team where the average age of the starter in the opener was 30 years and 269 days, Phair is a nod to the future. “We need that at club level in South Korea, we need this kind of player,” said Bale. “Casey has speed and power – that’s where the rest of the team needs to step up.”
Standing on the touchline of the Sydney Football Stadium, she said she felt butterflies in her stomach, but then it went into autopilot.
“Going into the tournament I was very nervous being the youngest player in the tournament, but I gained a lot of confidence, and I realized that playing in front of so many people wasn’t intimidating,” Fire told ESPN after the South Korea match. The second match. “I feel like I learned a lot, just from the experience I had on the court.
“I get a lot of support from my friends at home and everyone around me. Colin does a lot to keep me out of the media, and I think the support I get from everyone else helps me focus and I can prevent stress.”
Fire appeared off the bench again in the second match, getting eight minutes in the end as South Korea chased a goal, eventually losing 1-0 to Morocco. After she takes stock of her progress, she is disappointed in the defeat, but happy to continue her development.
“I think it shows that if you work hard from an early age, no matter how old you are, if you can work hard, you will make it to the biggest stage,” she told ESPN.
After this Phair will go back to school and continue her studies, but life will be different. She made history here and as she said after the first match on her Instagram“This is only the beginning.” — Tom Hamilton, with reporting from Sophie Lawson
Dragoni: Italy’s next great creative talent
Giulia Dragoni turned 16 last November, and it’s been a wild ride ever since.
On 20 November, two weeks after her birthday, she made her debut for Inter Milan. In January, she signed for Barcelona, starting with the B team. In March, she was named to the Italy national team squad for the first time. On July 1, I made it I visit She became the youngest player to represent her country this century at the age of 16 years and 236 days. The following day, she was named in the 23-man World Cup squad, becoming the youngest player ever to play for Italy in the tournament when she started their opening match in New Zealand, a 1–0 victory over Argentina, aged 16 years and 259 days.
It all happened so fast that not everyone in the game could keep up with her rise.
“I have not [trained] With her actually, but I’ve heard a lot of good things and she’s a really talented player,” Brazilian winger and Fridolina Rulfo told ESPN in a press conference before last Saturday’s match against Dragoni and Italy. She was here at the World Cup and it’s good that Barcelona have players like her. I look forward to seeing her in the rest of the tournament.”
Dragoni kept their place after losing 5-0 to Sweden. Wearing the number 16, perhaps a nod to her age, she sat on the edge of midfield as Italy got off to a fast start. Good in possession, quick of thought with the ball and willing dribbling, you can see why Barcelona are drawn to her talents. In the end, Sweden made Italy pay for their lack of ability to defend set plays, but Dragoni made their mark. Rulfo quickly confronted her at the final whistle, asking her for her shirt.
“It was great to see her and I told her that,” Rulfo told reporters after the match. “She’s a great player. She’s got great talent and I think she’s really mature for her age. I loved playing against her and I’m looking forward to seeing how her future develops at Barcelona. She looked sad after the match and I went to talk to her, ask for her shirt, because we’re teammates and I wanted to have it.”
It was Italy coach Melina Bertolini who catapulted Dragoni into the spotlight by giving her such a prominent role in the World Cup. And the spotlight remained on the creative midfielder even as Italy stunned 3-2 by South Africa on Wednesday – Dragoni played the full 90, completing 86% of her passes – and she will only become more intense when she returns to Barcelona for pre-season.
“I played really well,” Bertolini said after Sweden’s defeat. “She’s very young but she has played at a very high level at the World Cup. She has shown that she has personality. Given her age, she has performed well and still has a lot to gain as a player. This experience will help her grow and develop her potential. She has a great future ahead of her.” Sam Marsden
Returning to the World Cup finals after an eight-year absence, it was – ostensibly – not a memorable summer for Costa Rica, as they crashed out at the group stage with three defeats and only one goal scored. However, there is context and promise for Las Tecas, as coach Amelia Valverde erred on the side of inexperience and youth in her squad selection, with no better example than her 16-year-old attacking signing, Cheikha Scott.
After causing a stir at the Concacaf Under-20 Championships earlier this year as she helped Costa Rica to an unexpected semi-final exit (at the hands of the USA), Scott earned her first-team World Cup approval despite getting her first nickname for her. Max last November.
Given her scoring prowess, scoring six times during the CONCACAF tournament two months ago, Scott would have preferred to take a deeper role, modeling herself on Shirley Cruz, Costa Rica’s most famous female soccer player. Eager to emulate Cruz as a number 10, Scott already has a solid vision for providing her teammates further up the field, but has been deployed in a more natural striker role by Valverde in New Zealand.
Given the gesture in Costa Rica’s first match – a loss at the hands of Spain – Scott made her World Cup debut on the second day of the tournament, before making her second appearance as a substitute five days later against Japan. Although the teenager was only on the field for 15 minutes in both games, he added fire and sharpness to the attacking line, taking chances right away and showing no signs of being bothered by the limelight.
in Las TecasThe third and final match in New Zealand, Scott started against Zambia and although she was unable to score a goal in the 3-1 defeat, she showed a lot of hope for the future.
Scott plays her club soccer, like many of her international colleagues, locally in Costa Rica, where she recently landed a cap with Alajuelense while playing alongside her idol Cruz, who has since retired. With a nose on goal and composure beyond her years – Scott has been a penalty taker for Costa Rica at youth level – there is a realization that when the time comes, she will move to a more competitive league. , perhaps following in Cruz’s footsteps and playing in Europe, where Paris Saint-Germain is her dream club. But for now, Scott remains a bright spark for Las Ticas at both youth and senior level, serving as a pointer to Costa Rica’s future. – Sophie Lawson
