It's hard to describe Buffon - Conte

The Juventus goalkeeper is set to receive his 150th cap for Italy when they take on Bulgaria on Sunday and the coach spoke of his admiration for his former team-mate

Conte says it is difficult to find the words to describe Italy goalkeeper Buffon ahead of his 150th Italy cap.

The 37-year-old, who played with Conte at Juventus and then under his tutelage when the former midfielder took over the Bianconeri first team, has been a key player for the Azzurri for the last 18 years, leading them to World Cup glory in 2006.

The shot-stopper will reach a new milestone of appearances when he takes on Bulgaria in Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifying clash and Conte was full of praise for him.

“Finding the words to describe Gigi is tough," Conte told reporters. "He is such a champion. I admire him as a player and as a man. He was my team-mate, my goalkeeper at club level and now for Italy.”

After Thursday's 1-0 win over Malta, Italy are top of qualifying Group H but were criticised for the performance and Conte insists his side will work hard to win over the doubters.

“I am not disappointed by criticism - it's part of the game. The national team is on its own. It’s open to criticism more than any other team. We will try to silence the critics with hard work."

The coach revealed that he is not entirely sure of the condition of his squad heading into Sunday's game and refused to reveal if Andrea Pirlo would feature.

“We will evaluate who has recovered well in tomorrow's training session.

“You’ll find out my line-up tomorrow evening. There are many players who can play in Pirlo's position, like Claudio Marchisio, Daniele De Rossi, Riccardo Montolivo and Mirko Valdifiori.

“Simone Zaza can play up front with Graziano Pelle, but also with Ciro Immobile.