Les Bleus were 2-0 up within eight minutes from the start thanks to quick goals from Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry.

Four minutes after the break, Lyon teenage sensation Karim Benzema marked his debut with his first international goal after entering as a half-time sub.

Jerome Rothen made it four after 64 minutes, before Benzema scored his second of the game ten minutes from time.

20-year-old Lyon winger Hatem ben Arfa followed in Benzema's footsteps as he scored on his France debut to complete the rout with an injury time strike.

In Glasgow, Scotland maintained their superb form with a 3-1 home victory over Ukraine thanks to goals from Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch and James McFadden.

Chelsea forward Andrej Shevchenko scored the only goal for the Ukrainians, who have no hopes of playing in next year's European championships.

Italy kept the chase with the Scots after the Azzurri beat Georgia 2-0, with goals from Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Grosso.

Scotland have 24 points at the summit of the tight group, Italy come second with 23, just one point ahead of France, with one game to go.

In Group E, England registered an easy 3-0 win over Estonia, with goals from Shaun Wright-Philips, Wayne Rooney and Taavi Rahn (own goal).

However, leaders Croatia gave the English no chance of taking the group summit as they edged 1-0 past Israel thanks to a strike from top scorer Eduardo da Silva.

Croatia are on 26 points on top of the group, while England come second with 23, five ahead of Russia, who have a game in hand.