Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Tuesday, March 29

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Tuesday SOCCER Asia's best vie for final spots in third round of qualifiers SINGAPORE - Seven spots are still up for grabs in the 12-team third round of World Cup qualifying in Asia when the continent completes the second round, with China, Australia and Iran among the sides with work still to do. (SOCCER-WORLD/ASIA (WRAPUP 1), expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, 500 words) International friendlies Scotland v Denmark, Glasgow (1945) England v Netherlands, London (2000) Austria v Turkey, Vienna (2030) Switzerland v Bosnia, Zurich (2030) Sweden v Czech Republic, Solna (2030) Germany v Italy, Munich (2045) Ireland v Slovakia, Dublin (2045) Portugal v Belgium, Leiria (2045) France v Russia, Paris (2100) Germany looking for win over Italy after England loss MUNICH - World champions Germany try to bounce back from Saturday's humbling home defeat by England when they face Italy in another friendly as they prepare for Euro 2016. (SOCCER-FRIENDLY-DEU-ITA/ (PIX), expect by 2245 GMT/6:45 PM ET, 400 words) Sturridge returns for England against Netherlands LONDON - Striker Daniel Sturridge makes his first England appearance in 18 months against the Netherlands at Wembley after a series of injuries as the hosts look for another win on the back of a 3-2 victory in Germany. (SOCCER-FRIENDLY-ENG-NLD/ (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Mike Collett, 400 words) We will also bring you individual match reports on all the other fixtures listed above. (SOCCER-FRIENDLY-HOME TEAM-AWAY TEAM/, expect from 2145 GMT/5:45 PM ET, 300 words) African Nations Cup qualifiers Malawi v Guinea (1230) Lesotho v Seychelles (1300) Rwanda v Mauritius (1330) Ethiopia v Algeria (1400) Niger v Senegal (1400) Namibia v Burundi (1500) Togo v Tunisia (1500) Angola v DR Congo (1600) Liberia v Djibouti (1600) Uganda v Burkina Faso (1600) Gambia v Mauritania (1630) Egypt v Nigeria (1700) South Africa v Cameroon (1700) Sudan v Ivory Coast (1700) Morocco v Cape Verde Islands (1900) Heavyweights seek to move to brink of qualification DURBAN, South Africa - Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt and Senegal will be on the brink of places at the 2017 African Nations Cup finals with wins amid 15 qualifiers. (SOCCER-AFRICA/NATIONS, expect by 2100 GMT/4 PM ET, by Mark Gleeson, 400 words) Pellegrini can take Zenit to next level MOSCOW - Manuel Pellegrini can take Zenit St. Petersburg to another level if the Chilean decides to take over as manager of the Russian club at the end of the season, according to former Manchester United winger Andrei Kanchelskis. (SOCCER-RUSSIA/PELLEGRINI, moved, by Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, 400 words) TENNIS ATP/WTA: Miami Open (to April 3) Women's quarter-finals After a day of upsets that derailed Serena Williams, Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbine Muguruza, the women's wide open quarter-finals get underway at the Miami Open. (TENNIS-MIAMI/WOMEN, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 350 words) Djokovic headlines men's battles to reach quarters World number one Novak Djokovic, on a quest for a record-tying sixth title in Key Biscayne, takes on Austrian Dominic Thiem for a berth in the quarter-finals. (TENNIS-MIAMI/MEN, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 350 words) CRICKET World Twenty20, India (to April 3) Peaking England meet formidable New Zealand in Kotla NEW DELHI - England skipper Eoin Morgan would like to believe his team peaked at the right time at the World Twenty20 while New Zealand were slightly premature going into Wednesday's semi-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium. (CRICKET-WORLD/SEMIS (PREVIEW, PIX), moved, by Amlan Chakraborty, 550 words) We also moved a factbox on the match Morgan, Williamson discuss first semi-final NEW DELHI - England captain Eoin Morgan and New Zealand counterpart Kane Williamson face the media ahead of Wednesday's first World Twenty 20 semi-final at the Feroz Shah Kotla. (CRICKET-WORLD/ (PIX), moved, by Amlan Chakraborty, 400 words) CYCLING Authorities under pressure to improve race safety PARIS - After Belgian rider Antoine Demoitie, 25, died after a fall in the Gent-Wevelgem race on Sunday in yet another accident involving a motorbike, cycling's authorities are under pressure to improve safety at their events. (CYCLING-SAFETY/, moved, by Julien Pretot, 600 words) NBA Thunder look to jam the Pistons The red-hot Southwest Division-leading Oklahoma City Thunder roll into the Motor City to take on the Detroit Pistons. (NBA-PISTONS/, expect by 1030 GMT/6:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 350 words) Warriors look to take next step in historic season The Golden State Warriors (66-7) aim to take the next step in their campaign for the best-ever NBA season record when they host the Washington Nationals. (NBA-WARRIORS/, expect by 0530 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 350 words) Rockets hit Cleveland The Houston Rockets, clinging to the last Western Conference playoff berth, visit Eastern Conference leaders Cleveland in one of six games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0500 GMT/1 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words) NHL Blackhawks, Blues vie for upper hand in Central The Blackhawks visit the Minnesota Wild, while the Blues host the Rockies in two of nine games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0500 GMT/1 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 700 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0010 GMT/8:10 PM ET, 500 words) (Europe desk editor: Ed Osmond)