The Korea Football Association on Tuesday announced the final call-up training roster for the women’s national soccer team ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.
The players will join Paju National Football Club (Paju NFC) one by one from March 18 to 23. Head coach Colleen Bell’s squad will play its World Cup opener against Haiti on June 8, before finalizing the 23-man roster and traveling to Australia for group play.
The 31-man roster includes most of the core players, including Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC), Cho So-hyun (Tottenham, England), Lee Keum-min (Brighton, England), Park Eun-sun (Seoul City Hall), and Jang Seul-ki (Incheon Hyundai Steel). Lee Young-joo (Madrid CFF, Spain), who had been sidelined due to injury, also made his return after more than a year since the East Asian Cup last year.
Five players earned their first call-ups to the A squad. Casey Yujin Phair (Players Development Academy, USA), Won Ju-eun and Kwon Da-eun (Ulsan Hyundai High School), all of whom represented Korea at the U-16 level in 2007, earned their first caps as high school players, while goalkeeper Choi Ye-seul (Changnyeong WFC) and 6-foot-2 forward Koo Gi-na (Hwacheon KSPO) also made their first appearance.
Most notably, Casey Fair, who was born to an American father and Korean mother, became the first “mixed-race” player in the history of the Korean Women’s National Team. She has good physicality, but she also has the ability to run and score goals.
Kwon Da-eun was called up to the national team at 15 years and 309 days, making her the second-youngest player ever to be called up to the A team, behind Ji So-yeon (15 years and 219 days).
The three U-16 players combined for 13 goals (five from Casey Fair, four from Kwon Da-eun and four from Won Ju-eun) in three qualifying matches for the 2024 AFC Women’s U-17 Asian Cup in April.메이저사이트
“Age doesn’t matter as long as you show the ability,” said head coach Colleen Bell. “We don’t have a lot of time left before the World Cup, so we need to give 100% in training and matches. Every player has to work hard every day to make the final 23-man roster.”
At the World Cup, the Women’s National Team will open their group stage campaign against Colombia on July 25 in Sydney. They will then face Morocco in Adelaide on July 30 and Germany in Brisbane on August 3.