A Gary Caldwell goal at Hampden last October provided a shock reverse for the French whose previous qualifying defeat had been against Russia in 1999.

A James McFadden wonder-strike in the Parc des Princes on Wednesday night gave Alex McLeish's side a shock double over France and put Scotland top of the section, one point ahead of Italy and two ahead of Les Blues.

Anelka led a posse of French players who were stunned by their defeat.

The 28-year-old Bolton frontman said: "This defeat is hard to cope with but we tried all we could.

"I think we should have scored right from the start but we struggled.

"The Scots got 100% success. They had one opportunity - although I am not sure we can really talk about a clear opportunity - and scored.

"After that we tried to fight back and do our best but it was not enough.

"Now we have to win our next three matches and feel positive about ourselves."

Anelka's strike partner David Trezeguet, who was playing in the absence of the suspended Thierry Henry, was also smarting from the shock defeat.

He said: "Despite the loss we have showed that we were the best team on the pitch.

"The Scots got only one chance to score and converted it.

"This is a shame and very frustrating for us because we really wanted to grab maximum points.

"We have to forget about Scotland as fast as possible.

"And if we win our next three matches we will be qualified for the Euro."

Despite forcing only four saves from Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, France defender Lilian Thuram denied the French were impotent in front of goal.

The Barcelona defender said: "We cannot say that France have a problem in attack.

"They only had one chance, we had far more.

"What happened was almost incredible, it is just unbelievable that we lost."

Midfielder Franck Ribery had the best chance of the game, only to see Gordon block his drive from 14 yards.

The Bayern Munich player tried to remain upbeat about his side's qualification hopes, saying: "We played well, pushed them hard and we tried to break their defence.

"It would have been good not to lose but we have to keep on working.

"Qualifying is now going to be a little bit harder but we have a handful of talented players to achieve such a goal. We must stay positive."