Italy await Nigeria

Nigeria will have precious little time to celebrate their qualification for the World Cup, with a friendly game against European heavyweights Italy scheduled to take place in London on Monday.
The fixture at Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium will kick off a little over 48 hours after the African champions won 2-0 against Ethiopia in Calabar on Saturday to qualify for next year’s football extravaganza in Brazil.
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi is expected to use Monday’s match to test the depth of his squad.
Beaten semi-finalists at this year’s Confederations Cup in Brazil, where Nigeria went out in the group phase, Italy are bidding to return to winning ways after a run of three successive draws.
Mario Balotelli is likely to have a new strike partner against Nigeria, with in-form Fiorentina frontman Giuseppe Rossi expected to come in for Dani Osvaldo but Juventus centre-back Andrea Barzagli will miss the game with an adductor injury.