The Juventus goalkeeper was chosen by coach Roberto Donadoni to lead his team on the pitch on Saturday in Genoa with skipper Fabio Cannavaro out of action through suspension.

"It's a great achievement after 10 years defending the Azzurri colours," admitted Buffon, who will make his 79th appearance for Italy this weekend.

"I hope I can continue with the national team for many more years to come, perhaps not until the age of 40.

"In any case I hope it will be the national team to end my international career and not me to end it."

The 29-year-old Buffon is determined to make the most of it but is aware of the challenge his team face to qualify for Euro 2008.

Italy currently sit in second place in Group B, one point behind Scotland, and one above France with three games remaining.

"It's going to be tough to qualify," said Buffon, a key member of last year's World Cup-winning squad. "Particularly because a few teams are making it more difficult than we expected it to be.

"On paper, we have two easy games [against Georgia and the Faroe Islands] and one difficult one in Scotland.

"For now, though, we can only think about beating Georgia. We will have plenty of time to think about the trip to Glasgow."

Donadoni certainly hopes his players will focus on the task at hand.

Italy beat Georgia 3-1 at Tbilisi one year ago but Donadoni expects a different game altogether despite Saturday's opponents having already waved goodbye to their dream of playing in Euro 2008.

Georgia have won two of their nine qualifying games so far and are second from bottom in Group B, 13 points behind the Azzurri.

However, they made life difficult for France and Ukraine, having lost 1-0 against Les Bleus before holding Ukraine to a 1-1 draw earlier last month.

"It's a very delicate clash," admitted Donadoni. "It's difficult to play against a team that has nothing to lose and that is why it worries me much more. I need all my players to step up, including my bench players."

Donadoni has received good news ahead of this weekend's game, with Juventus striker Vincenzo Iaquinta and AC Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini having returned to training after recovering from minor knocks.