Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is again set to give youth a chance in Wednesday's friendly against France, but wants to win to boost the Azzurri's world ranking.

Italy moved into fifth place in the FIFA rankings last week and Prandelli is keen for his side to remain within touching distance of top-ranked Spain.

With captain Steven Gerrard expected to win his 100th England cap in Wednesday's friendly against Sweden, Agence France Presse Sport looks at the other players to have reached a century of caps for the Three Lions.

PETER SHILTON (goalkeeper, 125 caps, 1970-1990)

Novak Djokovic dedicated his ATP Tour Finals title to his sick father after the world number one produced one of his greatest performances to defeat Roger Federer 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 in the final on Monday.

Djokovic has been playing with a heavy heart over the last week at London's O2 Arena as his father Srdjan battles to recover from a blood disorder that struck suddenly a few weeks ago.

Roger Federer admits he relishes stealing the spotlight at the ATP Tour Finals, after the world number two enjoyed huge support from the British crowd during his semi-final victory over Andy Murray on Sunday.

While British number one Murray was supposed to be the home fans' favorite at the season-ending event, it was Federer who raised the biggest cheers from the O2 Arena audience in south-east London as the defending champion cruised to a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win that set up a final showdown with Novak Djokovic.

Title favorites Ivory Coast are among 14 qualifiers for the 2013 Cup of Nations who begin preparations for the tournament by playing friendlies in Africa, Europe and North America this week.

Ghana and Cape Verde Islands get the ball rolling in Lisbon Tuesday followed by 15 fixtures Wednesday from Miami, who host Nigeria and Venezuela, to Johannesburg, where South Africa confront Cup of Nations title holders Zambia.

Two Major titles, world number one, money titles on both sides of the Atlantic, and still only 23 -- but as Rory McIlroy made crystal clear this weekend, he's just getting started.

The tousle-haired, approachable Northern Irishman has ambitions way beyond his humble roots in Holywood, a port town near Belfast, with an eye on golf's most coveted records.

Chelsea star Frank Lampard is poised to follow former teammates Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka with a lucrative move to China, after Guizhou Renhe confirmed Monday they were in talks with him.

The England international midfielder has been linked since March with a move to the Chinese Super League.

Ethiopian runner Kadir Pecaro won on Sunday the 42-kilometer race at the 2012 BLOM Beirut Marathon.

Hussein Awada was the first Lebanese runner to finish the same race run on Sunday with a time of 2 hours and 28 minutes.

Andy Murray swept into the semi-finals of the ATP Tour Finals as the world number three defeated France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) at London's O2 Arena on Friday.

After Novak Djokovic's win over Tomas Berdych earlier on Friday, Murray knew he only needed to take one set off seventh seeded Tsonga to guarantee his third appearance in the last four of the season-ending event.

Mike Brown was fired as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after the team started the NBA season by losing four of its first five games, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday.

The firing came only hours ahead of the Lakers playing host to Golden State, a game in which the squad will be guided by assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff on an interim basis. A search for a new head coach is already under way.