Roberto Baggio may be designated as a substitute, but Italy's best-known footballer said yesterday he is determined to leave his mark on France '98.

Italy are preparing for their final pre-World Cup friendly against Sweden in Gothenberg tonight with Baggio ready to stand in for the injured Alessandro Del Piero.

Baggio, who hasn't started for Italy since November 1994, is desperate to play down any talk of competition with his former team-mate at Juventus. "I'm totally relaxed about it all," he said. "I know that the first-choice is Del Piero, I've already won my World Cup by just being called up to the squad."

But he added: "If the opportunity arises, I'll do what I can to make people remember me, just like at USA '94.

He went on: "I've come here knowing the way things are. It's true I'm Roberto Baggio, but in this squad, there are people who were chosen before me. All I'm saying is that if the need arises, I'll be ready.

It took the best goalscoring season of his career for the 31-year-old to win his place on coach Cesare Maldini's list of 22. And nearly a fortnight later, it is still a source of pride.

"In July a year ago, how many of you would have bet on me being here?" he asked reporters. "I was the only one."

Now he has to shine here after a tough physical work-out at Italy's Coverciano training base outside Florence.

"The problem with games like these is that they come just before the finals, when your body hasn't fully absorbed all the preparation that's gone into it. Clearly, we won't be at 100 per cent. We won't be really brilliant."