France v Scotland
International Friendly Match
Tuesday, 17 October, 2023, kick-off 8pm (UK)
Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre Mauroy, Villeneuve d'Ascq

Scotland will look to give the nation more reason to party as they take on FIFA World Cup finalists France tomorrow night in Lille.

Fresh from securing automatic qualification for UEFA EURO 2024 – with two games of the campaign to spare – the players will now test themselves against the two-time World Cup winners on their own turf.

The fixture is the third game in succession that Scotland face nations in the top ten of the FIFA World rankings, with Scotland losing to Spain on Thursday night in Seville after last month’s 150th Anniversary Heritage Match at Hampden ended in defeat to the Auld Enemy.  

Scotland will aim to maintain the momentum they have built over an unprecedented last year against a France side who also secured their qualification for EURO 24 this week, with an away trip to Georgia to come next month followed by a home match against Norway to round off a remarkable year for the national team.

Previous Meetings

The two nations have played 16 times since their first meeting in 1930, a 2-0 victory for Scotland in Paris.

Scotland held the advantage in the first eight fixtures, racking up five victories by 1984, while France have won five of the last seven fixtures between the two nations.

Although France can lay claim to winning the most recent match between the two sides, a 3-0 victory in June 2016, Scotland completed a famous double over them in the most recent competitive fixtures during the qualification campaign for EURO 2008.

In that campaign Scotland followed up a 1-0 victory at Hampden as a result of a Gary Caldwell strike with one of the most iconic away wins in the nation’s history – a 1-0 win in Paris thanks to that goal from James McFadden.

Team News 

Scotland captain Andrew Robertson misses the match after injuring his shoulder in a collision with Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon in Seville.

Fellow fullback Aaron Hickey has also been forced to withdraw due to injury, with Scotland Under-21 fullback Max Johnston earning his first call-up to the senior squad to replace the pair.

While Johnston will be hoping to make his debut, should John McGinn feature in the match he will earn his 60th cap for the nation.

Pre-match thoughts 

After securing qualification for UEFA EURO 2024, Scotland Head Coach Steve Clarke paid tribute to his players ahead of what will be a tough test against France.

“I’m really proud of the players. It is fantastic for them to be at a second major finals after such a long barren period.

“The last time we qualified for the Euros it was through the play-off system. It felt a little bit like sneaking in the back door.

“This time we can walk straight in the front door with our heads held high and look forward to a good tournament next summer.

“But before that we have to finish the group properly, we have two competitive games next month and we want to finish on a high.

“I said when we qualified for the last tournament that we want to be at major tournaments more often.

“We missed out on the World Cup in the play-offs, which was sore, but we obviously learned some lessons from that – don’t leave it to chance, don’t leave it to a one-off game and we managed to do that.

“We want a really good match tomorrow against a team who is probably the best in the world, we have two competitive games next month to finish the group and it would be nice to think we can match the tally of Spain, that is something to aspire to so we will try to do that.

“Then we will wait on the draw and see what that brings us and then we will start to plan for the summer.”

Where to watch

The match will be broadcast live on ViaPlay Sports 1, with coverage beginning at 7pm.

Scotland Squad

 

Goalkeepers
Zander Clark Heart of Midlothian
Angus Gunn Norwich City
Liam Kelly Motherwell

Defenders
Liam Cooper Leeds United
Jack Hendry Al-Ettifaq
Max Johnston* Sturm Graz
Scott McKenna Nottingham Forest
Nathan Patterson* Everton
Ryan Porteous Watford
John Souttar Rangers
Greg Taylor Celtic

Midfielders
Stuart Armstrong Southampton
Lewis Ferguson Bologna
Billy Gilmour* Brighton
John McGinn Aston Villa
Callum McGregor Celtic
Kenny McLean Norwich City
Scott McTominay Manchester United

Forwards
Ché Adams Southampton
Jacob Brown Luton Town
Ryan Christie Bournemouth
Lyndon Dykes Queens Park Rangers

*Denotes Scottish FA JD Performance School graduate