Vogts has revenge in mind for France

So much for the stereotype. Supposedly a stern, unemotional model of Teutonic efficiency and caution, Berti Vogts evoked Ally MacLeod more than Craig Brown as he looked ahead to his first match as Scotland's manager, tonight's friendly with France. Could Scotland beat the world champions? "Why not?" But what about Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira? "They're only names."

The last time Vogts sent out a side in France, when Germany faced Croatia at Lyon in the World Cup four years ago, he ended up being vilified by his national media after a 3-0 defeat. Yesterday, taking his first eve-of-match press conference since relinquishing his post as coach to Kuwait six weeks ago, the 53-year-old cracked jokes, clenched his fists and relished his return to what he termed "the real football world".

The haunted figure that left the German job late in 1998 has given way to a tanned and relaxed individual, relentlessly upbeat about Scotland's prospects. Far from adhering to a rigid 4-4-2 formation, or trying to match France's system, he floated the idea that one of the least experienced sides in his adopted country's history might set Roger Lemerre's team a tactical conundrum of their own by deploying three front players.

Given that the five strikers in his squad have just 17 caps and three goals between them, France may not be quaking in their expensively endorsed boots. In a sense, though, Vogts has nothing to lose. Should Scotland go the way of most visitors to the Stade de France, nobody will be unduly surprised. However, if the evening throws out positives to take into the qualifying campaign for Euro 2004, both in terms of personnel and ways of playing, the scoreline will be irrelevant.

Vogts, having excited Scottish supporters by calling up an unprecedented number of young, uncapped players, is unlikely to start with more than two of their number. Placing a higher priority on the performance than the scoreline is one thing; the gung-ho sacrifice of a collection of precocious talents to the World Cup holders quite another.

Gary Caldwell, who is on loan from Newcastle to Hibernian and does not turn 20 until next month, is set to emulate his once-capped brother Stephen by playing in central defence. Celtic's Stephen Crainey, 21 in June, is earmarked for the left-back role, but Vogts hinted that he would not expose Kevin McNaughton, 19, of Aberdeen, to the searing pace of Thierry Henry on the French left.

Dominic Matteo, whose 27 years and club pedigree make him appear a stalwart despite a mere five caps, has the versatility to feature at centre-back, full-back or left midfield. Given the need to give Crainey cover against the surges of Sylvain Wiltord, the latter must be favourite. The new captain, Paul Lambert, will attempt to repeat his feat in marking Zidane out of the match, as he did for Borussia Dortmund against Juventus in the 1997 European Cup final, while Colin Cameron's ability to break beyond the forwards could win him the third midfield place.

Neil McCann also offers variety, being able to operate as a winger-cum-midfielder or an additional attacker. Vogts leaned towards the second option, thereby pitting the Rangers player's pace against French rearguard which is expected to have an average age of nearly 32.

"Maybe France think they are playing our youth side, but this is the Scottish national team and they will have to work hard to win," warned Vogts. His first pep talk would stress the need for concentration and discipline, yet he cited Franz Beckenbauer's briefing to West Germany before the World Cup final win over Argentina 12 years ago as a paradigm of succinctness. "The Kaiser told them just two things: 'The ball is round, and keep going for 90 minutes'."

Lemerre will field Henry in Robert Pires' position and Vincent Candela for the injured Lilian Thuram, but France are otherwise close to full strength. He demanded an improvement on their last display, February's 2-1 defeat of Romania. "I want the players to focus much more," he said. "I'm not saying we were bad, but some guys didn't concentrate and carelessness can be dangerous. The Scots are tough opponents and won't give us any gifts."

FRANCE (4-2-3-1; probable): Barthez (Manchester United); Candela (Roma), Desailly (Chelsea), Leboeuf (Marseille), Lizarazu (Bayern Munich); Vieira (Arsenal), Petit (Chelsea); Wiltord (Arsenal), Zidane (Real Madrid), Henry (Arsenal); Trezeguet (Juventus).

SCOTLAND (4-3-3; probable): Sullivan (Tottenham); Weir (Everton), Dailly (West Ham), G Caldwell (Newcastle), Crainey (Celtic); Cameron (Wolves), Lambert (Celtic), Matteo (Leeds); Crawford (Dunfermline), Freedman (Crystal Palace), McCann (Rangers).

Referee: J Granat (Poland).