Striker Stephane Chapuisat will be the centre of attention at Basel's St Jakob Park on Wednesday when he is expected to earn his landmark 100th cap for Switzerland.

If the 34-year-old forward plays in Switzerland's friendly against Germany, as is expected, he will reach three figures and be only 12 caps short of Alain Geiger's Swiss record.

Having made his debut for Switzerland as a fresh-faced 19-year-old in 1989, Chapuisat has scored 21 goals in his 99 appearances.

But he is not letting the prospect of earning his 100th cap cloud his focus on next month's Euro 2004 in Portugal, where he will attempt to go out of international soccer with a bang.

"I believe that Euro 2004 will be interesting for Switzerland," said Chapuisat, looking ahead to his farewell to the international stage. "Only great performances will allow us to reach the quarter-finals, but we will try.

"I want to make a big contribution in Portugal before putting an end to my international career at the end of Euro 2004. That is my focus."

Switzerland will be the underdogs in Group B at the European Championship, starting on June 12, where they face France, England and Croatia.

Chapuisat is the longest-serving Swiss player and represented his country in the World Cup finals in the United States in 1994 as well as in Euro 96 in England.

He has waited eight years for another opportunity to play on the highest stage.

FINAL SEASON

In 2001, his international career was seemingly over when he announced his retirement after being left on the bench by coach Koebi Kuhn for a World Cup qualifier against Yugoslavia.

But the two men made up and Chapuisat missed just 22 minutes of the eight group games as he helped to book a place in the finals of Euro 2004. His partnership with Alexander Frei proved crucial to the Swiss success.

A former Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, Chapuisat had intended to call time on his career altogether after Euro 2004.

But having helped Young Boys to qualify for the Champions League with second place in the Swiss league, he has agreed to put his ageing limbs through one final domestic season.

"I want to be there when we play in the Champions League qualification," Chapuisat said. "I never thought we could achieve that with Young Boys. Now it is an enormous challenge.

"I'm glad I've decided to play for another year. In June 2005, I will take on a new role with Young Boys, which is yet to be decided, but before that I want to make a success of my final year.

"Nothing will be easy but I want to enjoy an excellent season."