Vogts' young Scots overrun by France

France 5 Scotland

Facile and unfair as it would be to talk about false dawns, the manner and margin of Scotland's defeat against France in Paris last night made for a chastening start to the managerial reign of Berti Vogts and no doubt left him glad it was merely a friendly.

Zinedine Zidane set the tone for an irresistible first-half display by the world and European champions against their youthful opponents, scoring the first of four goals in a half-hour period which left Scotland facing a damage-limitation exercise.

David Trézéguet, with two goals which took his international tally to 19 in 35 games, and Thierry Henry also beat Neil Sullivan during Les Bleus' purple patch. Scotland fared better in the second half, but Fulham's Steve Marlet completed the rout with four minutes left.

Vogts said afterwards: "In the first half maybe I was watching the next World Cup winners. The pressure was too great for my young team. But in the second half we changed our system and we controlled the game. Now we must try to play better in our next game, against Nigeria at Aberdeen."

If there can be any consolation after such a defeat – Scotland's heaviest since Portugal beat Andy Roxburgh's side by the same score nine years ago – Vogts need only recall his one meeting with France as Germany's manager. The French won, yet within a month his team had triumphed at Euro 96, proving that the results of such matches tend to be meaningless.

After suggesting he might play three up front, Vogts unveiled a formation which replicated France's midfield: two covering players and three theoretical attackers to support the lone spearhead. It was in tatters by half-time.

Yet a typically casual moment from Fabien Barthez almost gifted Vogts the start of his dreams. With just 35 seconds played, the elastic eccentric swung at Frank Leboeuf's backpass and kicked fresh air. The ball bobbled a foot wide.

France had killed the game as a contest with little more than half an hour gone. In the 12th minute, Patrick Vieira marked his 50th cap by seizing on a sloppy clearance by Colin Cameron and feeding Zidane. The £50m man angled a brutal left-footed volley beyond Sullivan from 20 yards. A further 11 minutes had passed when Leboeuf's cross-field pass found Zidane on the left. Bixente Lizarazu swept on to the ball at breakneck speed before crossing for Trézéguet to score with a header.

The left of Scotland's defence was staffed by two rookies, Stephen Crainey and Gary Caldwell, the latter's experience amounting to 12 loan games with Darlington and Hibs. In the 32nd minute the pair were exposed by Sylvain Wiltord, whose pass was buried by Henry's half-volley from 22 yards.

Three minutes before half-time France's pace and movement again tore the Scots open. Vieira, showing the creative side of his game, speared a breathtaking pass to Trézéguet whose deft finish made it 4-0.

To Scotland's undoubted relief, much of the impetus went out of France's football in a substitute-strewn second half. Zidane was a glorious exception, drawing gasps from the near-capacity crowd as he danced and swayed over the ball.

"Zizou" had already departed, to a rapturous ovation, by the time one replacement, Eric Carrière, crossed for another, Marlet, to hit the fifth with a rising shot. When Vogts said the score mattered less than the performance, he may not have envisaged such an introduction.

FRANCE (4-2-3-1): Barthez (Manchester United); Candela (Roma), Leboeuf (Marseille), Desailly (Chelsea), Lizarazu (Bayern Munich); Vieira (Arsenal), Petit (Chelsea); Wiltord (Arsenal), Zidane (Real Madrid), Henry (Arsenal); Trézéguet (Juventus). Substitutes: Silvestre (Manchester United) for Desailly, h-t; Makelélé (Real Madrid) for Vieira, h-t; Marlet (Fulham) for Wiltord, 59; Karembeu (Olympiakos) for Candela, 59; Christanval (Barcelona) for Leboeuf, 66; Carrière (Lyon) for Trézéguet.

SCOTLAND (4-2-3-1): Sullivan (Tottenham); Weir (Everton), Dailly (West Ham), G Caldwell (Newcastle), Crainey (Celtic); Lambert (Celtic), Matteo (Leeds); Freedman (Crystal Palace), Cameron (Wolves), McCann (Rangers); Crawford (Dunfermline). Substitutes: Gemmill (Everton) for Freedman, h-t; Holt (Norwich) for Cameron, h-t; Thompson (Dundee United) for Crawford, 64; McNamara (Celtic) for Holt, 75.

Referee: J Granat (Poland).