Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday

Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday: SOCCER World Cup 2018 - European qualifying GROUP C Northern Ireland v Germany (1845) BELFAST - World champions Germany, having won all eight of their games in Group C, need one point away to Northern Ireland to guarantee top spot and a place at next year's World Cup in Russia. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-NIR-GER/ (PIX), expect by 2045 GMT/4:45 PM ET) Group E Armenia v Poland (1600) YEREVAN - Poland will qualify for the World Cup in Russia if they win away to Armenia and Denmark fail to beat Montenegro. A draw will be enough to guarantee them a top-two finish in the group. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ARM-POL/ (PIX), expect by 1800 GMT/2PM ET) Montenegro v Denmark (1845) PODGORICA - Montenegro and Denmark clash in a battle for the group's runners-up spot and a potential playoff berth (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-MNE-DNK/, expect by 2045 GMT/4:45 PM ET) Group F England v Slovenia (1845) LONDON - England can qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup if they beat Slovenia at Wembley while defeat could end Slovenia's chances of finishing second. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-ENG-SVN/ (PIX), expect by 2045 GMT/4:45 PM ET, by Martyn Herman) Asian World Cup qualifying Syria v Australia, playoff first leg (1230) Syria hoping for 'home' boost against Australia in Malyasia MALACCA, Malaysia - After missing out on automatic qualification for next year's World Cup finals, Ange Postcoglou's Australia meet Syria in the first leg of a regional playoff being held in Malaysia for security reasons. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP-SYR-AUS/ (TV), expect by 1500 GMT/11 AM ET, 350 words) We will also bring you all the build-up to this week's World Cup qualifying matches, including news conferences with players and managers, as teams jostle for places at next year's tournament in Russia. (SOCCER-WORLDCUP/TEAM, expect throughout) MOTOR RACING Japanese Grand Prix Hamilton and Vettel prepare for Suzuka weekend SUZUKA, Japan - Title contenders Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel will meet the media ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. (MOTOR-F1-JAPAN/(PIX, TV), expect by 0800 GMT/4 AM ET, by Abhishek Takle, 400 words) We will also have stories from around the paddock. TENNIS ATP/WTA - China Open BEIJING - World number four Karolina Pliskova faces Sorana Cirstea in the last 16 while French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko meets local hope Shuai Peng. (TENNIS-BEIJING/WOMEN, 400 words) BEIJING - Top seed Rafa Nadal takes on Karen Khachanov in the second round of the ATP 500 China Open while Alexander Zverev faces Fabio Fognini. (TENNIS-BEIJING/MEN, 400 words) RUGBY Rugby Championship South Africa v New Zealand South Africa team announcement CAPE TOWN - South Africa coach Allister Coetzee names his team for the last game of the Rugby Championship against New Zealand at Newlands on Saturday. (RUGBY UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP-ZAF/TEAM, expect by 1300 GMT/9 AM ET, by Mark Gleeson) CAPE TOWN - Coach Steve Hansen has underlined the All Blacks ruthless nature by naming arguably his strongest available side for their Rugby Championship finale against South Africa, with all of his rested players coming back into the starting side. (RUGBY UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP-NZL/, moved, 450 words) Pumas seek first points, Wallabies second place MENDOZA, ARGENTINA - Argentina's Pumas will be looking to beat Australia in Mendoza to avoid ending the Rugby Championship without points on the final day of the tournament while the Wallabies will seek to leapfrog South Africa into second place if the Sprinbogks fail to beat champions New Zealand. (RUGBY-UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP-ARG-AUS/PREVIEW, by Rex Gowar) DOPING IOC in denial over drugs says Icarus film director The director of Icarus, the film that tracked the exposure of Russia's massive doping scandal, tells Reuters that the IOC would rather sweep the problem under the table than deal with it properly.(SPORT-DOPING/FILM (INTERVIEW, PIX), expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, by Mitch Phillips, 1100 words) SPORTS BUSINESS Leading sports officials attend Sport Business summit LONDON - Leading figures from the world of sport, including Football Association Chief Executive Martin Glenn, address delegates at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge stadium. (SPORT-LEADERS/, expect throughout, by Simon Evans) GYMNASTICS World Artistic Gymnastics Championships (to 8) Larduet top qualifier for men's all-around Cuban Manrique Larduet is the top qualifier for the men's all-around final at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, but he is likely to face stiff competition from Ukranian Oleg Verniaiev, Russian David Belyavskiy, China's Xiao Ruoteng and Japan's Kenzo Shirai. (GYMNASTICS-WORLD/ (TV), expect by 0300 GMT/11 PM ET, 300 words) GOLF PGA Tour: Safeway Open (to 8) Napa, California Mickelson back in action as new season begins Less than 100 hours after the end of the old season, Phil Mickelson is among those in action as the new 2017-18 PGA Tour season kicks off at Silverado Resort with the first of 49 official money events. (GOLF-SILVERADO/SAFEWAY, expect by 0300 GMT/11 PM ET, 400 words) BASEBALL American League Division Series kicks off The American League Division Series gets underway with two games. Six-times All-Stars Chris Sale (Boston) and Justin Verlander (Houston) will be the starting pitchers as the Red Sox and Astros meet in an afternoon match-up, while the New York Yankees send Sonny Gray to the mound against the Cleveland Indians, who will counter with Trevor Bauer. (BASEBALL-MLB/PLAYOFFS, expect by 0400 GMT/12 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 600 words) NFL Brady on verge of record New England quarterback Tom Brady will tie Brett Favre and Peyton Manning for the most regular season wins by a starting quarterback (186), but victory against Tampa Bay is no certainly for the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots (2-2), whose defense will be tested by the Jamies Winston-led Buccaneers. (FOOTBALL-NFL-TB-NEP/, expect by 0430 GMT/12:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) NHL Penguins back in action after overtime defeat in season opener The defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins try to improve on their season-opening overtime loss when they play the Chicago Blackhawks in one of eight games on the schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0530 GMT/1.30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 600 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words) (Asia desk editor: Sudipto Ganguly)