A late rally from France in the second half helped the women's World Cup hosts to overcome a stiff challenge from Thailand to win 3-0 in a warm-up match in Orleans on Saturday. France, ranked fourth in the world and 30 places above their Asian opponents, were held to a scoreless first half with many Olympique Lyon players, who won the Champions League last weekend, named on the bench. Midfielder Elise Bussaglia opened the scoring on the hour mark from a short corner routine that Thailand failed to clear. Substitute Kadidiatou Diani then scored twice in eight minutes to seal the win, capitalizing on a mix-up to score her first goal before pouncing on a rebound from Chor Charoenying's penalty save off Eve Perisset to grab her second in the 86th minute. France play one more warm-up game, against China on Friday, before kicking off their World Cup campaign on June 7 against South Korea. Thailand, who have qualified for their second World Cup, play defending champions United States on June 11. — Reuters
