“I don’t really want to hype up a young player too much before she’s even played,” he said on the eve of the Colombia game. “That’s why I’ve been safeguarding her from the media.”
The record for youngest player in the Women’s World Cup had stood since 1999, when Ifeanyi Chiejine played for Nigeria at 16 years and 34 days. Phair eclipsed it 24 years later by a mere eight days.
Despite her youth, Bell said Phair had qualities that set an example for her older teammates.
“She’s very powerful, very fast, strong,” he said. “She’s got that self-belief, one of the aspects I’ve always admired from the US girls, who go on to the pitch expecting to win. That’s not over-confidence or complacent, that’s a clear message for every opponent: we expect to win and that’s what we’re going to do.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to instill into this team for the last four years, and it’s not easy because it is a big cultural difference to go from this underdog mentality to a mentality that the expectation is to win.”
Phair will get the chance to continue her World Cup career when the South Koreans get a shot at redemption in their next group match, against Morocco in Adelaide on Sunday, while Colombia take on Germany in Sydney later that day.
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