Football: EURO CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER: Wales v Italy, Millennium

RYAN GIGGS believes he may finally be on the verge of fulfilling his lifelong dream of playing in a major international tournament.

But he knows Wales must maintain their current form going into the crunch European Championship qualifier with Italy at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Wednesday night.

The Manchester United winger's sense of unfulfilment in an international shirt has continued to haunt him through his years of domestic and European success at Old Trafford.

Giggs maintains that playing in a major tournament with Wales would be every bit as special as the numerous nights of glory he has experienced in the red shirt of United.

But international underachievement has so far left Giggs to believe that his dream was always destined to elude him, leaving him to look back on his career with a great sense of failure.

Now, though, Wales go into the match against the Italians undefeated in more than a year and confidence is at an all-time high.

"I genuinely believe that if we maintain our form this side can finally find the success that has eluded us all over the years," said Giggs.

"Confidence, given the recent run of results, is extremely high and the spirit in the camp is extremely positive going into this crucial game against Italy.

"I have to admit over the years I had virtually come to accept that I would probably never play in a major tournament with Wales and come the end of my career I would look back on my international record with a great sense of disappointment.

"I've been extremely fortunate to find success at club level, but it has always bothered and niggled me that I've been denied the chance to play in a major international event with my country.

"I remember how I felt in the summer when some of the other lads at United left for the World Cup.

"It's depressing because you feel you are missing out on something - and to think I might never get that opportunity is hard to stomach.

"While it's important not to get over-excited by our recent success, I feel that with the progress we are continuing to make that there has never been a better opportunity to put Wales on the football map."

Wales are undefeated in seven games and got their Euro 2004 qualification campaign off to an excellent start when they won 2-0 in Finland last month. They face an Italian side desperate to put behind them their underachievement at the World Cup.

Wales will be looking to settle some old scores themselves on the night following a resounding 4-0 defeat the last time the two teams met in competition.

That came during qualification for Euro 2000 in Bologna, a defeat that was to cost Bobby Gould his job.

Giggs added: "I think it speaks volume for how far we have come going into this match but it's important to set aside talk of revenge, I don't believe in that.

"You pretty much know what to expect from the Italians because they are an exceptional side.

"I think they will find the home crowd unsettling in Cardiff because the Welsh fans generate an unbelievable atmosphere at the Millennium Stadium.

"At the same time I'm under no illusions that they have depth of quality, tempered by ability and experience to be a major threat to our own aspirations of qualifying."

European nights at Old Trafford tend to be a bit special, but Giggs believes this game on Wednesday will be up there with anything he has experienced with United.

"I have always maintained that there is a special atmosphere generated by our home fans at Old Trafford on European nights," said Giggs.

"That's especially the case for big matches against the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus.

"But matches of this calibre for Wales are every bit as special. Of course it helps when confidence is high and the crowd's expectations rise to generate an incredible atmosphere."

At the same time Giggs is all too aware of the danger created by too much expectation. "We are not naive enough to go into a match like this suffering from over-confidence," he insisted.

"In looking to qualify we have achieved nothing yet, and there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done to achieve that.

"Confidence can be knocked as quickly as it has come - it only takes one telling defeat to knock the stuffing out of you."

But Giggs cannot praise the contribution of manager Mark Hughes enough and he believes the trust placed in him by the Welsh FA has been a major factor in the current success story.

"Under Mark I never had any illusions that we were heading in the right direction. We don't have an abundance of talent to call upon like countries such as England, or Italy for that matter. And that is testament to the tremendous job Mark has done here. He has brought into the job the qualities he had as a player, coupled with years of drawing from the experience of managers he has worked under.

"Sparky has done a fantastic job with Wales, vindicating the decision of the Welsh FA to give him the job and stand by him when some of the critics were on his and the team's back.

"I know how desperate Mark was to play in a major international tournament when he was pulling on the shirt but his enthusiasm and desire is as strong, if not stronger, now that he's in charge." Hughes's confidence going into this game will certainly be given a lift by Giggs's current form for his club.

"I'm reasonably pleased with my game and the way I'm playing," Giggs said. "Maybe I'm a bit more fired up because of what happened last year when United missed out, but I'm finding consistency and the net, which helps confidence.

"I'm enjoying my football right now and I'm reaching the age where my game should really be approaching its peak. I've always said that I can go on to improve as a player - and I think I'm proving that so far this season."

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