You’ve built a bridgehead to your dream. Now it’s just a matter of hoisting the trophy. It’s a dream come true for 16-year-old Casey Eugene Fair (PDA-photo), who was a “surprise” selection to the final roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023.

The mixed-race player was included in the 23-player final roster for the tournament, which was announced by the Korea Football Association on Friday. “My dream is to one day play for the South Korean women’s national team and lift the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy with my teammates,” she said in an interview with the KFA last November.

Paer is the first mixed-race player in South Korean soccer history to make the Women’s World Cup final roster. Prior to Paer, Jang Dae-il was named to the final roster for the 1998 World Cup in France. However, Jang has never played in a World Cup final. If she takes the field at the tournament, she will make history as the first mixed-race player to play in a World Cup 메이저도메인.

Born on June 29, 2007, she would also become the youngest player to play in a World Cup at the age of 16 years and 1 month. The previous record was set 20 years ago by Park Eun-sun at 16 years, 9 months. Currently a member of the prestigious US youth team PDA, Fair has been gaining experience with the South Korean age-group national team since last year. In April, she showed off her scoring prowess with five goals in two first-round qualifying matches for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-17 Women’s Asian Cup 2024. Fair’s position is striker.

A dual citizen of South Korea and the United States, Fair earned a call-up to the U.S. Under-15 National Team last year. However, he has yet to play an A-match (a match between national teams) for any of the senior national teams, so he is not eligible for the World Cup under FIFA rules. Head coach Colleen Bell described the pair as “an immediate resource for the team,” adding that they have “good physicality, good use of both feet, good finishing, and good learning ability.”

With the roster finalized, the Korean women’s soccer team will play its final domestic test against Haiti at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Aug. 8 before departing for Australia on Aug. 10. South Korea, who are drawn in Group H at the tournament, will face Colombia on Sept. 25, Morocco on Sept. 30, and Germany on Sept. 3.