Paris: France players savoured a “dream” opening to the women’s World Cup after the hosts set the ball rolling in style with a 4-0 win over South Korea before a sell-out crowd on Saturday in Paris.
More than 45,000 supporters filled the Parc des Princes to watch Les Bleues cruise to a one-sided victory, with giant defender Wendie Renard scoring twice in between goals from Eugenie Le Sommer and captain Amandine Henry.
“Personally I could not have dreamed of a better start,” said Renard, the tallest player in the competition, as she admitted an emotional rendition of the national anthem had lifted the home players.
“We knew the Parc would be full, and after the ‘Marseillaise’ we wanted to get off to a great start and score in the first quarter of an hour,” she added.
France took the lead and were 3-0 in front at half-time, having another goal disallowed for offside after a review.
