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Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Thursday, March 24

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Thursday: SOCCER Dutch soccer legend Johan Cruyff dies AMSTERDAM - Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch soccer striker and coach, has died of lung cancer aged 68, according to a message posted on his website. (SOCCER-DUTCH/CRUYFF, moved with updates to follow, 500 words) Asian World Cup qualifiers Asian heavyweights seek to avoid last day nerves In the penultimate match day in the second round of Asian World Cup qualifiers, Australia beat Tajikistan while Japan welcome Afghanistan as the teams look towards the next phase of the Road to Russia 2018. (SOCCER-WORLD/ASIA, expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, by Patrick Johnston, 450 words). African Nations Cup qualifiers Madagascar v Central African Republic (1130) Comoros v Botswana (1200) Djibouti v Liberia (1300) Ghana v Mozambique (1530) Xavier leads Mozambique for first time JOHANNESBURG - Ghana host Mozambique who will be led by coach Abel Xavier, the former Liverpool and Everton defender, for the first time. (SOCCER-AFRICA/NATIONS, expect by 1730 GMT/13:30 PM ET, by Mark Gleeson, 250 words) Internationals Turkey v Sweden Ukraine v Cyprus Czech Republic v Scotland Italy v Spain Wales v Northern Ireland We will have coverage of all the above matches. (SOCCER-FRIENDLY-TEAM/ expect throughout) Italy bid to end poor run against Spain UDINE, Italy - Italy, who have not beaten Spain in their last four meetings, attempt to end their poor run against the European champions when they meet at the recently-rebuilt Stadio Friuli. (SOCCER-ITALY/, expect by 2200 GMT/6 PM ET, 300 words) CRICKET World Twenty20 (to April 3) Teams take stock on rest day at World Twenty20 NEW DELHI - It is a rest day at the World Twenty20 before South Africa face West Indies and Australia meet Pakistan on Friday. (CRICKET-WORLD/, expect throughout, 400 words) TENNIS ATP/WTA: Miami Open (to 3) Mahut, Baghdatis eye berths to second round Frenchman Nicolas Mahut faces Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito while Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis faces German qualifier Benjamin Becker in men's first-round action at the Miami Open. (TENNIS-MIAMI/MEN, expect by 2330 GMT/7:30 PM ET, 400 words) Serena begins quest for record ninth Miami title Serena Williams opens her quest for a fourth consecutive and record ninth overall Miami title with a second-round match against American compatriot Christina McHale. In other women's action, third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska faces France's Alize Cornet while fifth-seed Simona Halep of Romania faces Russia's Daria Kasatkina. (TENNIS-MIAMI/WOMEN, expect by 2330 GMT/7:30 PM ET, 400 words) GOLF PGA Tour: WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, Austin (to 27) Spieth duels with Dubuisson in Match Play World number one Jordan Spieth faces France's Victor Dubuisson, defending champion Rory McIlroy battles American Smylie Kaufman, and second-ranked Jason Day, who tweaked his back in an opening day victory, goes against Thai veteran Thongchai Jaidee at the WGC-Dell Match Play tournament at the Austin Country Club. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), expect by 0030 GMT/8:30 PM ET, 400 words) Puerto Rico Open (to 27) Cejka begins title defense in Puerto Rico Defending champion Alex Cejka of Germany and former world number one Luke Donald are among those in the field when first round action of the Puerto Rico Open gets underway at Coco Beach Golf Club. (GOLF-PGA/PUERTORICO, expect by 0030 GMT/8:30 PM ET, 250 words) NBA Rolling Thunder shoot for sixth straight win Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder try to tighten their grip on the third seed in the Western Conference when they put their five-game winning streak on the line versus the visiting Utah Jazz. (NBA-THUNDER/, expect by 0230 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Pacers look to bolster playoff hopes The Indiana Pacers, sitting dangerously close to the cutoff line for an Eastern Conference playoff berth, try to bolster their postseason hopes when they host a New Orleans Pelicans. (NBA-PACERS/, expect by 0530 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) Bulls visit struggling Knicks; Clippers face Blazers The Chicago Bulls try to give their playoff hopes a boost when they visit Madison Square Garden for a clash with the struggling New York Knicks while the Los Angeles Clippers host the Portland Trail Blazers in two of the five games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) NHL Stars try to tame Coyotes; Lightning visit Bruins The Dallas Stars try to pad their lead atop the Western Conference when they visit the Arizona Coyotes while the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Boston Bruins in a clash of teams battling for top spot in the Atlantic Division in two of the 11 games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 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) BASKETBALL Lokomotiv and Red Star clash for Euroleague playoff berth BELGRADE - Lokomotiv Krasnodar meet Red Star Belgrade in the Euroleague knowing a place in the playoffs will be up for grabs with two games to spare. (BASKETBALL-EUROLEAGUE/, expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, by Zoran Milosavljevic, 400 words) HORSE RACING World Cup often produces home victory DUBAI - The $10 million Dubai World Cup has often produced a home victory with horses owned by Emirate ruler Sheikh Mohammed or other family members winning 10 of the 20 previous editions. (HORSE RACING-DUBAI/, expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, by Matt Smith, 400 words) (Asia desk editor: Greg Stutchbury)