Wendie Renard says it is France's "time to strike" as they prepare for their Olympic Games opener against Colombia on Thursday.

France are competing in the Olympics for the third time after qualifying as hosts, though they failed to win a medal in either of the previous appearances.

Their best-ever finish came at London 2012, when they finished fourth after conceding a stoppage-time goal in a 1-0 defeat to Canada.

Despite never reaching a major tournament final, Les Bleues are among the favourites to win the gold medal in Paris.

And after regularly reaching the knockout stages of tournaments during Renard's time as captain, she is confident now is the right time for her team to finally get the glory.

"Winning the Olympic gold is the dream," she told The Guardian. "Personally, I rank playing for my country very highly.

"So far it's been a lot of ups and downs, but you learn from the defeats. Life isn't only made up of victories – many winners have fallen again and again before being crowned.

"I hope that our efforts over the years will be rewarded this summer.

"I think there's a bit of fear on the part of the teams we face because we're so well-rounded. But when we look back at the matches in which we were knocked out, we weren't missing a lot. It's the little details that send you home.

"We see that we've fallen behind compared to other countries – even though at one point we were ahead. Now would be the right time to strike, and I say that in all modesty – it would be ideal for us."

France will also face Canada and New Zealand in Group A.