(Reuters) – As a junior player with big dreams, Australia’s Clare Hunt once idolised Wendie Renard, but now the defender will try to shut down France’s captain in a dream Women’s World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.
“Wendie Renard was a role model for me,” Hunt told reporters in Brisbane on Thursday. “I saw her composure at a young age and wanted to emulate that in some way. I feel like I know the way that Wendie plays because I used to watch her as a kid.”
The 6-ft 2-in (1.87m) Renard has been a defensive colossus for France for more than a decade and is a huge threat in attacking set-pieces.
She has been a major factor in France’s progress to the quarter-finals, scoring with a header late against Brazil to earn Les Bleus a vital 2-1 win at Brisbane’s Lang Park in the group stage.
Renard will be back…