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."
- 'Explosion' of women's game -
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