Italy deserve to qualify for Euro 2008, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon said Thursday ahead of Saturday's crunch match against Scotland in Glasgow.
''This group of players and this coach deserve it,'' Buffon said after a final training session at Florence stadium.
''If we get to the European championships it would crown a year and a half's work,'' Buffon said.
The Juventus keeper paid tribute to coach Roberto Donadoni's resilience under media pressure and his ability to put his own imprint on Marcello Lippi's World Cup winners.
''We got off to a terrible start and credibility was really low after (a 1-1 home draw against) Lithuania and (a 3-1 loss in) France,'' he said.
''But then we made a great recovery. The only thing we failed to pull off was the win against France,'' Buffon went on, recalling September's cautious goalless draw against the group leaders.
''But now, with Donadoni, we have our own identity. He has changed Italy, working hard. We've put the World Cup win behind us in the best way possible.
''This coach has a plan''.
Buffon indicated Donadoni will launch a highly physical assault on the Scottish back line, with powerful Juve striker Vincenzo Iaquinta flanking Bayern Munich star Luca Toni up front.
''Iaquinta's in great form, he's hungry and physically he's capable of striking fear into Scotland''.
Tricky Udinese winger Antonio Di Natale had also looked sharp in training, Buffon added.
''A three-pronged Italy attack is very possible,'' he said.
Italy only need a draw at Hampden Park, assuming that next Wednesday's home game against the Faroe Islands is in the bag.
France coach Raymond Domenech has suggested Scotland and Italy have agreed a non-aggression pact that could spell France's exit if it loses in Ukraine next Wednesday.
The claim spurred Donadoni and Toni to say that Italy would be going all out for a win.
Buffon, on the other hand, said he would be ''very happy to take the draw''.
As for Domenech, Buffon said ''any dig about our alleged desire to play for a draw would only hurt if it came from someone you know and respect''.
Scotland are second in the group, a point below France and a point above the Azzurri.
They have surprised many by winning five games out of 11 and beating France twice.
''They've added a good dose of skill in attack to their fighting spirit,'' Buffon said.
He singled out strikers Kenny Miller and James McFadden - whose winner against France in Paris is already top of the Scots' all-time favourite goals list - as the main threats.
Scotland coach Alex McLeish knows he needs a win to be sure of qualifying.
But he said Thursday his team would not expose itself to Italy's expected counterattacks.
''The Italians are very good at keeping the ball. If we go for broke, playing with our hearts alone, we could put ourselves in the worst spot through our own efforts.
''We have to concede as few chances as possible and play all our own cards''.
Scotland hasn't been in a major international tournament for almost ten years, since it was knocked out of the 1998 World Cup in the first round.
The Hampden match is already a sell-out and reportedly even McLeish's mother will be forced to watch her son's charges perform on TV.
Amid the pre-match frenzy, one report out of Glasgow Thursday claimed that Scotland have already reserved a hotel at a possible training camp for next year's championships in Austria and Switzerland.
Buffon took the news calmly.
''It's easy to book a hotel but even easier to cancel''.
