Paris: Hosts France laid down a marker in the opening game of the women's World Cup as towering defender Wendie Renard scored twice in a convincing 4-0 win over South Korea to kick off the tournament in style in Paris on Friday. A sell-out crowd of 45,261 filled the Parc des Princes to watch the start of what is billed as the biggest women's World Cup yet, but there was no sign of the pressure getting to the French. Les Bleues are among the favourites to win the trophy on home soil and they showed no mercy to the Koreans, with the prolific Eugenie Le Sommer giving them an early lead and Renard, the tallest player at the tournament, twice heading home before the interval.
Captain Amandine Henry, impressive throughout, wrapped up the win in this Group A encounter, a goal she said was "the realisation of a dream I had as a little girl". "We went into the match the right way," Henry told broadcaster TF1, revealing her team had become emotional during the national anthem. "We were close to tears when the 'Marseillaise' was playing, the emotions were running high." French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte watched France's victory, sitting alongside FIFA chief Gianni Infantino.
Infantino had this week promised the month-long tournament would see the explosion of the women's game as he was re-elected unopposed at the head of world football's governing body. Almost a million tickets have been sold for matches in the nine host cities.
This was certainly a fine start with a carnival atmosphere despite the cool evening and the French showing their credentials. France's own football federation have set the team the target of going all the way to the final in Lyon on July 7.
The problem for coach Corinne Diacre's side is that, if they win their group, they could well end up facing reigning champions the United States in Paris in the quarter-finals.Germany, who face China on Saturday, and England are also among the contenders.
The USA, whose legal battle to be paid the same as their male counterparts has made waves in the run-up to the tournament, start their campaign against Thailand in Reims on Tuesday. Ranked fourth in the world, the French women have underperformed at recent major tournaments, losing in the quarter-finals of the last World Cup, Euro 2017 and the last Olympics.
