France and Scotland played a friendly match in Lille on Tuesday evening after both teams had already achieved their primary ambition for this international break: EURO qualification. In an entertaining game, Scotland surprisingly took the lead, after which Les Bleus showed their class, finishing 4-1.
The French started with quite a few players who won in Amsterdam last Friday, while Scotland's manager Steve Clarke made several changes. Within the first fifteen minutes, the visiting team surprisingly went ahead 0-1. The assist came from Eduardo Camavinga, who kindly set up Billy Gilmour. The skillful midfielder put the Tartan Army ahead in Lille 0-1, much to the delight of the numerous kilt-wearing supporters in the away section.
The response wasn't long in coming. Benjamin Pavard was loosely marked, allowing him to easily head the ball in from a corner. The rest of the night saw one-way traffic at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Pavard soon scored his second after Kylian Mbappé outran his somewhat slow-moving marker, Jack Hendry, and provided a great cross for his teammate.
The onslaught continued. Scotland defender Liam Cooper seemed eager to swap shirts with Olivier Giroud a bit too early: after VAR consultation, a penalty was awarded. Mbappé gave the Scottish goalkeeper no illusion of saving it: 3-1. After the break, France eased off, but Kingsley Coman still added to the tally with a technically brilliant goal.
The 4-1 scoreline reflected the balance of power, marking the second win for Didier Deschamps' team during this international break, after their victory in Amsterdam. Scotland lost both matches – tonight and last Thursday in Spain – but won't lose much sleep over it. Due to results elsewhere, Clarke's team has been assured of its spot in Germany next summer since Sunday.
