Scotland gave France an early fright before suffering a chastening 4-1 loss to their classy hosts in Lille.
The Scots went into the friendly knowing they had qualified for the 2024 European Championships at the weekend after Spain beat Norway to ensure Steve Clarke’s side a top-two finish in Group A.
Clarke took the opportunity to utilise his squad, giving a debut to Liam Kelly among eight changes from last week’s game in Seville and they stunned the home side when midfielder Billy Gilmour guided in the opener after 11 minutes – his first ever senior goal.
However, France defender Benjamin Pavard scored twice with headers by way of a rapid response and skipper Kylian Mbappe added a third from the spot before the break.
Substitute Kingsley Coman hammered in a fourth in the 70th minute to seal a commanding win for the superior home side.
After winning their first five Euro qualifiers, Scotland have lost three games in a row and Clarke will want to get that winning feeling back in the final two qualifiers against Georgia and Norway next month.
In addition to Kelly’s introduction to international football in The Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre Mauroy, Clarke also brought in defenders Nathan Patterson, Greg Taylor and Liam Cooper, midfielders Kenny McLean, Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson and striker Che Adams.
It was always going to be a tough test against Les Blues, who qualified comfortably for Euro 2024 by winning their first six qualifiers.
Boss Didier Deschamps also freshened his side up from the 2-1 win over the Netherlands last Friday.
Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann kept their places while Ousmane Dembele and all-time leading scorer Olivier Giroud came back into the side.
The kick-off was delayed for around 10 minutes due to the long queues at the stadium amid extra security measures put in place after two Swedish nationals were shot dead in Brussels the previous evening.
There was a minute’s silence before the game to commemorate that incident and it was a low-key start to the game on a pitch still showing markings from its use in the Rugby World Cup, before the Scots took an unexpected lead.
France defender Eduardo Camavinga cut out a pass from Gilmour inside the box but with a poor touch gave it straight back to the unmarked Brighton midfielder, who curled the ball low past goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
However, there was little time for the Tartan Army to enjoy the landmark goal as a Griezmann corner from the left five minutes later was all too easily glanced past Kelly by Inter Milan centre-back Pavard.
A refocused France side took control of the game and Mbappe skipped past Jack Hendry before crossing for Pavard again to head past Kelly from close range.
The visitors were struggling to get up the pitch and in the 40th minute France were awarded a penalty after referee Tobias Stieler went pitchside at the behest of VAR and judged Cooper had held Giroud inside the penalty area, with Mbappe stepping up to send the penalty past the diving Kelly, who got close but not close enough.
The Motherwell keeper did not look great moments later when he fumbled a shot from Dembele but the lurking Mbappe could not capitalise.
Hearts keeper Zander Clark replaced Kelly at the start of the second half to make his debut and Jacob Brown and John Souttar would take over from Adams and Cooper. Giroud and Dembele made way for Marcus Thuram and Coman and in the 70th minute the latter thrashed a shot high past Clark after Griezmann had volleyed against the bar.
A low drive from Brown in a rare Scotland attack was pushed past the post by Maignan and the corner came to nothing before Ryan Christie and Stuart Armstrong came on for Gilmour and McLean.
Thuram rattled Clark’s crossbar with a drive and at the other Maignan made saves from Armstrong’s volley and Brown’s header but the game was already well gone for Scotland.
Salah: There will be 'fire' if I speak after Klopp clash
Mohamed Salah refused to talk to the media following a touchline clash with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, saying there would be "fire" if he spoke.
Liverpool's Premier League title hopes are hanging by a thread following a 2-2 draw at West Ham on Saturday, and much of the discussion after the game centered on a flare-up between Salah and Klopp in the latter stages of the contest.
Salah, dropped from the starting XI for the visit to the London Stadium, was involved in a furious confrontation with Klopp prior to being substituted on, with the pair having to be separated by Joe Gomez and Darwin Nunez.
Following the game, Salah made a comment as he walked through the media area, refusing to conduct interviews with the press.
"If I speak today there will be fire," Salah stated as he refused to discuss the incident.
Klopp was also not very forthcoming on the confrontation after a draw which leaves his team two points off leaders Arsenal and a point behind second-placed Manchester City having played at least a game less than both of their title rivals.
When asked about the Salah dispute, Klopp told TNT Sports: "I'm not in the mood to talk about that to be honest or look at that at all."
Klopp has just three games left of his Liverpool tenure, and despite the success he has endured at Anfield, including a Premier League title and Champions League glory, it's at risk of ending in a damp squib.
Klopp hopes his team can avoid that disappointing conclusion by finding their form again over the remainder of the campaign.
"We had to win here, we knew that, and we didn't," Klopp continued. "Now we have a little bit more time between now and the next game.
"We try to get the boys ready again and we will go again."
Wolves 2-1 Luton Town: Hwang on target as Hatters' relegation fears grow
Hwang Hee-chan ended his four-month goal drought to help inspire Wolves to a 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Luton Town at Molineux on Saturday.
Hwang opened the scoring late in the first half at the end of a lightning counterattack, his strike deflecting off Teden Mengi and nestling in the bottom corner.
A clever set-piece routine allowed Wolves to double their lead after 50 minutes as Toti Gomes nodded in from Mario Lemina's cross, though Luton set up a grandstand finish when Carlton Morris fired home.
However, they failed to find an equaliser in the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time and stay 18th, one point adrift of Nottingham Forest in 17th. Wolves, meanwhile, move into the top half with 46 points.
Luton started brightly and Ross Barkley called Jose Sa into action just five minutes in, but the Wolves goalkeeper dived to his right to palm his strike away from danger.
Hwang then made a superb run in behind as Wolves showed their teeth, but he shot down the throat of Thomas Kaminski after latching onto Lemina's throughball.
Luton should have gone ahead after 39 minutes as Jordan Clark teed up Morris, but he could only power his header into the hands of Sa.
They were made to pay just 18 seconds later as Matheus Cunha picked out Hwang inside the box. The Wolves forward cut back onto his right before shooting low, and his deflected effort found its way into the bottom-right corner.
Five minutes after the break, Lemina was found on the edge of the box from a short corner, and his sensational first-time cross allowed Toti to send a bullet header into the net.
Nelson Semedo should have made it three for Gary O’Neil’s side as he found himself one-on-one with Kaminski, but the Luton goalkeeper rushed off his line to make a strong stop.
Luton pulled one back after 80 minutes as Alfie Doughty’s cross was nodded back into a dangerous area by Reece Burke, and Morris pounced to volley home.
However, Wolves clung on through six added minutes to end their six-match winless run.
Hwang ends long wait
It’s four months to the day since Hwang last found the net in the Premier League, with injuries and international duty frustrating him since he scored twice against Brentford on December 27th.
He looked back to something approaching his best on Saturday, working the channels effectively and settling Wolves' nerves with his opener, which came after a strong start from Luton.
The victory takes Wolves into the top half ahead of Bournemouth facing Brighton on Sunday, though they remain some seven points adrift of the top seven and a potential European place.
Luton’s survival hopes dented
Luton could have climbed out of the relegation zone with three points against Wolves, but they remain in 18th place, one point behind Forest and just one clear of Burnley.
Some soft defending cost the Hatters on Saturday, and they have kept just two clean sheets in their 35 Premier League games this campaign.
With just three games remaining, Rob Edwards will be desperately hoping his side can turn things around after a tricky run, their defeat at Molineux making it three losses in a row.
Bayern Munich 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Kane scores landmark double in home win
Harry Kane scored twice to surpass the 400-goal mark for his senior career and guide Bayern Munich to a 2-1 Bundesliga victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
The Bavarians, who saw Bayer Leverkusen end their 11-year-Bundesliga reign by securing the league crown two weeks ago, have only the Champions League trophy to fight for with departing coach Thomas Tuchel eager to leave on a high note.
Bayern warmed up for Tuesday's semi-final first leg against Real Madrid with three points at the Allianz Arena, denting Eintracht's hopes of European qualification in the process.
They went in front with Kane tapping in after a fine run from Konrad Laimer in the ninth minute, though the Austrian had to be taken off injured later on.
Eintracht levelled in the 23rd minute with Hugo Ekitike's shot from 18 yards out but Kane restored order with a penalty just past the hour for his 35th league goal of the campaign.
It was his 400th career goal at senior level for club and country and his 42nd this season across all competitions, a personal best for the England captain.
The hosts also had to take off defender Matthijs de Ligt at half-time after he was on the wrong end of some rough challenges, potentially giving Tuchel another selection headache ahead of Tuesday's tussle with Los Blancos.
Bayern remain in second place with three games left to play on 69 points, 11 behind Leverkusen, who are in action against third-placed Stuttgart later on Saturday.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
