Buffon was awarded his first cap for Italy's senior team under Cesare Maldini on 29 October 1997, at the age of 19 years and 9 months (), as an injury replacement for Gianluca Pagliuca during the first leg of the 1998 World Cup qualification play-off against Russia, in Moscow; with this cap, Buffon became the youngest goalkeeper to feature for Italy post-World War II. This record was beaten by Gianluigi Donnarumma on 1 September 2016. Buffon came on in the 31st minute and made notable saves under snowy conditions in a 1–1 away draw, including an important stop from a Dmitri Alenichev shot, only being beaten by a Fabio Cannavaro own goal. The result helped Italy to qualify for the upcoming World Cup 2–1 on aggregate. He was a member of the squad for the 1998 World Cup finals, initially as the third choice goalkeeper; after an injury to starting goalkeeper Angelo Peruzzi, Buffon was promoted to second-choice goalkeeper behind Pagliuca, with Francesco Toldo being called up as third-choice, but Buffon did not play a single game in the tournament. Italy were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties to hosts and eventual 1998 World Cup champions France.