France 0 Scotland 1:Scotland came to stage a resistance in Paris but they opted for a coup instead. On a monumental night illuminated by the goal of a lifetime from James McFadden, Alex McLeish's men inflicted only the second home defeat on France in 13 years to rise above the 2000 Euro champions to the top of the group. Incredibly, unbelievably, Euro 2008 is now beckoning for the Scots.
With a game-plan executed to perfection Scotland exceeded even their own expectations of a point to record one of the finest wins in their history.
McFadden is due to return to Everton today, but first he may have to pose for the statue his compatriots wanted constructed in his honour last night.
Belief now courses through this squad and nowhere was that better personified than when the mercurial forward collected the ball 35 yards from the French goal in the 64th minute. One turn and one glorious left-foot shot through the suspect grasp of Mickael Landreau later, and McLeish's men were in ecstasy.
Evidence of progress under first Walter Smith and now McLeish was not witnessed merely on the pitch in Paris, scene of a 5-0 humiliation for Scotland when they last visited the French capital for the first game of the Berti Vogts era in 2002.
Renewed faith was confirmed by the massed ranks of the Tartan Army too, and even La Marseillaise appeared to carry a Scottish twang when sung before kick-off as the home crowd found themselves vastly outnumbered and drowned out by an awesome travelling support.
It was McFadden, recalled following his productive performance as a substitute against Lithuania on Saturday, for whom they reserved their greatest acclaim and to whom McLeish allocated the tireless duty of haranguing Lilian Thuram and Julien Escude as the lone Scotland striker.
The task was not without success for McFadden as he relished the responsibility that has often been denied him by his country and club, offering a consistent outlet with his movement, retaining possession well, displaying surprising aerial strength and inviting the free-kicks that provided Scotland's clearest route to goal.
Not that the France goalkeeper was regularly under threat.
Scotland played the disciplined yet defensive guest for a France side blessed with composure and confidence. In Franck Ribery on the right and the former Lyon pairing of Florent Malouda and Eric Abidal on the left they also possessed an outstanding supporting cast to a strike-force that, even without the suspended Thierry Henry, would be the envy of international managers across the globe.
Alan Hutton and Graham Alexander, his experience earning him the vote ahead of Jay McEveley at left back, were constantly on alert against the wide men from Bayern Munich and Chelsea, with Stephen McManus forced to make a vital clearance in front of his goal when Malouda and Abidal combined in the sixth minute.
David Trezeguet shot wide on the spin as a chip from Claude Makelele exposed rare space in the area, Craig Gordon held on to a 30-yard drive from Malouda, and Ribery squandered the clearest opportunity of the opening half when he scuffed the Chelsea midfielder's cross skywards.
Scotland's game-plan suffered a serious setback in only the 26th minute when Darren Fletcher was forced off with an injury inflicted by the raised boot of France's captain Patrick Vieira.
The Manchester United midfielder had been measured in possession and tactically astute, and his loss deprived McLeish of a valuable asset for his plan of frustrating Raymond Domenech's team. But it spoke highly of the work-rate and concentration of those who remained that France, while continuing to dominate possession, did not test Craig Gordon again until the second half.
The opening exchanges of the restart, however, almost proved the ruination of Scotland's rearguard action and but for Gordon's presence they could have been two down by the 57th minute.
Ribery sliced through and squared the ball to the unmarked Nicolas Anelka, but Gordon was once again equal to the threat. Wondrously for Scotland, their goalkeeper was not their only hero.
FRANCE:Landreau, Lassana Diarra, Thuram, Escude, Abidal (Benzema 77), Ribery, Vieira (Nasri 69), Makelele, Malouda, Trezeguet, Anelka. Subs not used: Frey, Evra, Toulalan, Clerc, Mexes. Booked: Vieira, Nasri.
SCOTLAND:Gordon, Hutton, McManus, Weir, Alexander, McCulloch, Ferguson, Fletcher (Pearson 26), Brown, Hartley, McFadden (O'Connor 76). Subs not used: McGregor, McEveley, Caldwell, Boyd, Maloney. Booked: Fletcher, Hartley.
Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria).
Guardian Service