Clarke knows all this in any case. And the make-up of the two teams meant there was only so much he could take from the evening. Bar three or four starters, including skipper for the night Scott McTominay, this was essentially Scotland reserves, with the main point of the night to give players such as Lewis Ferguson, who made only his second start for his country, some much deserved game-time.

France, however, didn’t get the memo. Never mind wasting their time trying to get clarifications from Uefa about Scott McTominay’s disallowed goal against Spain on Thursday, the Scottish football Association ought to have been striking an entente cordiale with France about not playing their top stars. Antoine Griezmann, Olivier Giroud and, most worryingly of all, Kylian Mbappe were all present and correct – and although Scotland took the lead, Billy Gilmour scoring his first-ever senior goal, class told.

If there if is nothing else Clarke can take from this boldly scheduled outing after games against England and Spain, then at least it has served a purpose in allowing Gilmour to get off the mark. The Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder struck a beautiful first-time effort into the far corner of Mike Maignan’s net after he pounced on a mistake from Eduardo Camavinga, who essentially just returned the ball to Gilmour after attempting to cut out his cross.

France's Kingsley Coman (centre) celebrates scoring their side's fourth goal against Scotland.

The 22-year-old wrapped his foot around the ball and watched it swerve into the corner. Although the strike shared some similarities with McTominay’s effort a few days, VAR didn’t spoil the party. The celebrations were short-lived, however. France asserted their authority and had scored three times by half-time.

Some had been surprised by Mbappe starting. Not only did he start, but he lasted 87 minutes in what some interpreted as a power play by Didier Deschamps. The manager had sounded very bolshie in the pre-match preference when asked if he was considering bowing to pressure from Paris-Saint Germain and limiting Mbappe’s time on the pitch. The French skipper led his team out in Lille on an emotional night and only left the pitch for good in the final stages, as if feeling obligated to stay with his team in these uncertain and worrying times.

Like at all matches around Europe, a minute’s silence was held before the match after the terror attacks in Brussels on Monday night, when two Sweden fans lost their lives before their side’s match against Belgium. While there were some shouts from the crowd – one cry of “Allez les Bleus!” was very clear – the pre-match silence was initially a very heartfelt and dignified one. Extra security checks had contributed to a heavy build-up of supporters outside the ground and the kick-off was delayed to let the near-capacity crowd in.

The last Scottish team to play in this particular stadium were Gregor Townsend’s rugby side, who had beaten Romania 84-0 in one of the most one-sided matches in the rugby World Cup. It’s not true to suggest that when Scottish supporters saw Clarke’s line-up there were concerns that scoreline might have been reversed in favour of the hosts but there were concerns.

Billy Gilmour curls the ball past Mike Maignan to put Scotland ahead against France.

Both sides were on a high. France had qualified for Euro 2024 on Friday, with Scotland following them into the draw three days later by dint of Spain’s win in Norway. Scotland were first to get into their stride although France had looked dangerous down the visitors’ left, where Mbappe scorched the turf – which was already looking threadbare due to the recent rugby activity – on a couple of occasions.

One dangerous looking cross had to be plucked from the air by Liam Kelly, who held onto the ball after a brief fumble on what was his belated debut. Kelly became the first Motherwell keeper to play for Scotland since Allan McClory in 1934 although he gave away to Zander Clark, who earned his first cap, at half time.

It had proved difficult opening half for Scotland, whose goal only helped stir their world-class operators. Still, it was not one of the players one might have expected to put Scotland to the sword who turned the scoreline on its head inside an eight-minute spell shortly after Gilmour’s opener. It was not a complete surprise to see Inter Milan centre-half stoop to head in Griezmann’s corner after 16 minutes although Clarke will be furious with the marking. It was, however, startling to watch the same player score with a diving header from open play after Mbappe breezed past Jack Hendry.

France made it 3-1 near the end of the first half when Liam Cooper tugged Giroud as the striker joined Pavard – yes, that man again – in trying get on the end of Mbappe’s cross from the right this time. German referee Tobias Stiiler missed the infringement but was invited to have a look by the VAR team, with the inevitable result that Kelly was soon standing in front of Mbappe.

The striker swept home his 43rd goal for his country. The hope was that Scotland could at least stem the tide in the second half with a third successive defeat now all but confirmed. They did to an extent but sub Kingsley Coman added a fourth from the rebound after Griezmann hit the bar with 20 minutes left. Although substitute Stuart Armstrong might have cut the deficit but saw his rifled shot blocked by Maignan, the visitors were happy to hear the final whistle – as too were the away fans, who took this first opportunity to applaud the players for helping resolve the question of where they are going on their summer holidays.

Scotland downed in Lille but trip serves purpose: Billy Gilmour's first-ever goal, two new goalies, France's Kylian Mbappe power play