Fancied France kicked off their campaign on a rousing note, inflicting a 7-1 humiliation on debutants New Caledonia in a Group E match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup here on Sunday.
A formidable force in international football, France were on the ball from the word go at the Indira Gandhi Stadium, and their hapless opponents were on the backfoot throughout the match.
Interestingly, the French scored six of their seven goals in the first half.
The European heavyweights opened the account when Bernard Iwa scored an own goal to give France the lead in the fifth minute.
Amine Gouiri doubled the lead in the 20th minute when he found the back of the net from the centre of the box after being fed by Yacine Adli.
Ten minutes later, Claudio Gomes made it 3-0 for France, this time Gouiri making the assist. Gouiri was soon back to his scoring ways as he hit the target barely three minutes later off an Adli pass.
In the 40th minute, it turned from bad to worse for New Caledonia as Maxence Caqueret made use of Adli's headed pass to score France's fifth goal.
And if that was not enough, France benefitted when New Caledonia conceded another own goal this time through Kiam Wanesse.
The scoreline read 6-0 in favour of France at the half time and even though they continued to be at the receiving end after the break as well, New Caledonia conceded only once while scoring one.
In the 90th minute, New Caledonia scored their first goal when Sidri Wadenges' left-footed shot from the right found the back of the net.
He was assisted by Cyril Nyipie's cross following a set piece situation.
France completed the rout when Wilson Isidor scored in the first minute of injury time.
The margin could have been bigger had France's Caqueret not missed a penalty in the 54th minute.
JAPAN CRUSH HONDURAS
Striker Keito Nakamura scored the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup's first hat-trick as Japan hammered Honduras 6-1 to begin their campaign on a resounding note here on Sunday.
Nakamura found the back of the net in the 22nd, 30th and 43rd minute.
Takefusa Kubo, dubbed the Japanese Messi for his exceptional skills, added a fourth in the 45th minute. Taisei Miyashiro scored the fifth goal (51st) at the start of the second half and Toichi Suzuki scored the sixth (90th) towards the end of the game.
Patrick Palacios reduced the margin for Honduras by scoring in the 90th minute.
The Japanese dominated the game throughout and never really allowed their opponents to settle down.
Nakamura opened the scoring when he headed in a Kubo cross from a very close range. The Nakamura-Kubo combination again clicked again eight minutes later as Nakamura's left-footed shot from the centre of the box found the back of the net.
The hat-trick goal was achieved when Nakamura's left- footed attempt off a Soichiro Kozuki through ball hit the target.