For the opening night, a performance sent from the heavens, telegraphing to the watching world French panache, speed of thought and technical excellence. For any who doubt that the technical levels of the men's and women's games are converging, here was the evidence in plain sight. The victory, against the world's 14th ranked country who barely broke French turf, was of less significant than the individual moments of class. Wendie Renard scored twice as France secured a comfortable win over South Korea in the opening match of the World Cup Forward Eugenie Le Sommer helped the hosts get off to the best possible start by opening the scoring on 9 minutes Les Bleues all but ended the match as a contest in the first half with three goals including two from defender Renard The 2019 Women's World Cup got underway at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Friday night with France hosting South Korea The opening ceremony before the match showcased performers representing every country participating in the competition The first match of the tournament saw France take on South Korea in Group A, with Norway and Nigeria facing off on Friday Performers wowed the crowds with a mix of visual displays, dancing and singing before the football got underway The 30-yard pass out of defence, flicked nonchalantly first time to the flank by right-sided forward Delphine Cascarino. The same player drawing down another high, raking pass down with her right foot. MATCH STATISTICS France (4-3-3): Bouhaddi; Torrent, Mbock Bathy Nka, Renard, Majri (Perisset 73); Henry, Bussaglia; Cascarino (Gauvin 70), Thiney, Le Sommer; Diani. Goals: Le Sommer 9, Renard 35, 45, Henry 85 Manager: Corinne Diacre South Korea (4-3-3): MJ Kim; HR Kim, Hwang, DY Kim, Jang Y (Kang C 52); Lee Y (Lee M 69), Cho; Kang, Ji, Lee; Jung Manager: Duk-Yeo Yoon Referee: Claudia Ines Umpierrez Rodriguez (URU) Attendance: 45,269 Centre-half Griedge Mbock Bathy executing an overhead kick, five minutes before finding the net with a crisp volley ruled out by VAR because she was literally a foot's width offside. It would have been a sobering night's viewing for Phil Neville and his players on the Mediterranean coast because a host nation which can sustain football like this take some beating. The Americans have arrived here as favourites but they don't marry that speed and power of theirs with levels of skill quite like this. The French beat them in January. The French captain Amandine Henry, whose contribution was stellar, had told her teammates this week: 'Do not dream. You have to be present on the pitch.' She was the one who set the opening minutes of the tournament alight – arcing a right foot shot narrowly wide of the right post and then, just nine minutes in, providing the cross from which Eugene Le Sommer volleyed home. Le Sommer rifled the ball off the crossbar and into the back of the net after excellent work from Amandine Henry on the wing The strike left the South Korean goalkeeper Kim Minjung completely stranded and sent the home fans into wild celebrations Towering centre-half Wendie Renard then doubled the hosts lead from a floated corner sent in by Gaetane Thiney Renard was a constant threat and at 6ft 1in rose comfortably above the South Koreans who had an average height was 5ft 4in Central defender Wendie Renard of France crosses her arms in celebration after doubling the hosts lead against South Korea Amandine Henry completed the opening night victory with a brilliant, right-footed strike into the far corner of the net The France star celebrates after rounding off the victory with a brilliant finish to leave the score 4-0 The South Koreans staged an impromptu team meeting on the pitch at this stage though they might have preserved their energy. The annihilation was completely brutal down their left flank and their only creditable moment was goalkeeper Kim Minjung's instinctive save from Le Sommer. Mbock Bathy's disallowed goal was only a brief interruption. Within eight minutes, her defensive partner Wendie Renard had leapt to head home Gaetane Thiney's corner, repeating the act on the stroke of half time from the corner Amel Majri despatched from the opposite flank. The psychological component is the aspect which has always given France's opponents reasons to hope. They've exited four successive tournaments at the quarter final stage, where they may well meet the Americans this time. South Korea's goalkeeper Min-Jeong Kim shows her disappointment after her side conceded a third before half time France's Kadidiatou Diani makes an attempt to score during the Women's World Cup Group A match at the Parc des Princes France's defender Marion Torrent (L) vies with South Korea's So-Yun Ji during the France 2019 Women's World Cup Group A France's Griedge Mbock Bathy plays a bicycle kick, as South Korea's Kim Do-yeon challenges her during the first half France's defender Marion Torrent (C) vies with South Korea's defender Selgi Jang (L) a during the World Cup Cup Group A tie The South Koreans' will provided no meaningful test but the hosts' coach Corinne Diacre has certainly added some steel. The forward Valeris Gauvin had arrived late for two training sessions before this game. So Daicre dropped her. Melyne Laurent, Gauvin's room mate, has incurred Diacre's wrath for the same reason. Both have been told they will not play a single moment in the competition if they repeat their transgression. They were not ready to call it a night after the first half procession. It was no nonsense – just like the brief opening ceremony – with Renard's distribution metronomic over a 20-yard, though the defender was at fault when with 15 minutes to play, when a long ball evaded her and substitute Mina Lee ran through on goal. She skewed her shot wide. There are suggestions that this may be Henry's last tournament but she will have sold the women's game to a new generation in the month before she's done if this reflects what is to come. So many of forward movements continued to go through her and the game had five minutes to run when she advanced toward the Korean area and, just before it, unfurled a shot which aced around Kim into the net. 'Le moment de briller' – 'the moment to shine' stated one of the FIFA perimeter messages. France lived up to the publicity. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility