France's Wendie Renard (centre) headed in two goals from corners. Photo / AP
France's women have successfully started down the path towards following in the World Cup footsteps of the French men.
Wendie Renard, at 1.9m the tallest player in the tournament, scored twice with headers from corners, and Les Bleues overwhelmed South Korea 4-0 in a gala World Cup opener.
Eugenie Le Sommer and Amandine Henry also got goals on a cool, windy night at Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain.
French pop star Jain provided the pre-game entertainment for the sellout crowd of 45,261, and French President Emmanuel Macron was among the spectators singing La Marseillaise and looking on.
"We knew it was going to be a really emotional evening. But I think we managed it well," Renard said. "When you have more than 45,000 people singing the French national anthem, it drives you forward."
France are hosting the tournament at a time when women's teams are increasing their push for equal treatment from Fifa and other football governing bodies. They are vying to become the first nation to hold both the men's and women's World Cup titles at the same time.
"I'm sure people expect or hope, and the same goes for us, we'd like to follow in the footsteps of the senior men's national team," French coach Corinne Diacre said. "But everything takes time. We won [against Korea] but we haven't still won anything. We have six more steps on the road that need to be taken. We need to be serious and focused for six games, and then we'll see what comes of it."
Norway and Nigeria meet in the other Group A opener this morning. France face Norway on Thursday and Nigeria the following Tuesday.
France's margin of victory was the largest in a Women's World Cup opener since China beat Norway by the same score at the first tournament in 1991. Four years ago, all nine teams that won their opener advanced from the 24-nation group stage to the round of 16.
The world's fourth-ranked team weren't tested by No 14 South Korea. France had a 17-0 advantage in shots during the first half and 21-4 overall.
Les Bleues, eliminated by Germany on penalties in the quarter-finals four years ago in Canada, applied pressure from the start on keeper Kim Minjung.
Le Sommer scored in the ninth minute off a cross from Henry and held up her hands in the shape of a heart in celebration after her 75th international goal, the earliest in a Women's World Cup opener. South Korea have conceded the first goal in all eight of their World Cup games.
Griedge Mbock Bathy appeared to score in the 30th minute but the goal was disallowed after a video review, technology also used by Fifa at last year's men's tournament in Russia.
"On the spur of the moment, you are happy, and when the goal is disallowed, it's frustrating, but you have to switch quickly," she said. "We had a lot of time left and we had a lot of opportunities to score."
Renard doubled the lead in the 35th from Gaetane Thiney's corner kick as the crowd chanted "Wendie! Wendie!"
She made it 3-0 from Amel Majri's corner in stoppage time with her 22nd international goal. Ten of her last 11 goals have come from headers.
"It really feels good on a personal level," Renard said. "But I think above all as a team, because these were very important goals. It allowed us to go into the break with a three-goal lead."
Henry added her 12th international goal off a pass from Le Sommer in the 85th minute.
South Korea substitute Lee Mina had her team's best chance on a breakaway in the 76th minute but her shot went just wide.
Renard, selected as player of the match, is among seven in the French side who were part of the Lyon team that routed Barcelona 4-1 to win the women's Champions League for the fourth straight year and sixth time overall.
Diacre had surprised many when her squad did not include PSG's Marie-Antoinette Katoto, a 20-year-old who was the French league's top scorer. Diacre also made the somewhat unexpected decision not to start Valerie Gauvin, who came on in the 70th minute. The coach said the decision was tactical.
France eliminated South Korea 3-0 in the round of 16 four years ago. Yoon Deok-yeo, South Korea's coach since 2012, said his team were simply outmatched by Les Bleues.
"The first match, the result is not that good," he said. "So for the upcoming two matches, we have to do our best. It is a must."
- AP