Colombia made a strong start to their Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over South Korea in Sydney.
Catalina Usme opened the scoring from the penalty spot, and 18-year-old Linda Caicedo added another goal in the 39th minute.
The match was also notable for the introduction of South Korea substitute Casey Phair, who became the youngest-ever player at a Women’s World Cup.
Aged just 16 years and 26 days, Phair broke the previous record held by Nigeria’s Ifeanyi Chiejine, who played at the World Cup in 1999 at the age of 16 years and 34 days.
Although born in South Korea, Phair moved to the United States when she was only a month old.
Despite her young age, South Korea’s coach Colin Bell had expressed confidence in Phair, stating that she would be a valuable member of the squad. Phair came on as a substitute for Choe Yuri as South Korea pushed for a comeback in the game.
“We’re taking care of her. She’s taken very well to the team. She’s selected because I think she can help the team now, like every other player. She is going not as a passenger but as a valuable member of the squad.”
Colombia took the lead against South Korea after Shim Seo-yeon was penalized for a handball in the area, and Catalina Usme successfully converted the penalty kick.
Shortly after, Linda Caicedo extended Colombia’s lead by showcasing her skills, starting from midfield, cutting in from the left, and delivering a well-curled shot past goalkeeper Yoon Young-geul.
With this victory, Colombia now shares the top spot in Group H with Germany, who secured an impressive 6-0 win against Morocco in their opening match. Both teams have accumulated three points in the group standings.
All teams participating in the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand have completed their opening matches. England is scheduled to face Denmark in their second Group D match on Friday. Sarina Wiegman’s team began their tournament with a 1-0 victory over Haiti.