IWRF World Championships: Wednesday preview

Semi-final hopes are on the line for many teams on the second day ofthe IWRF World Championships in Odense, Denmark 06 Aug 2014

A group of four players in wheelchairs - two per side - fight for the ball during a wheelchair rugby match.

A tussle between hosts Denmark and Canada at the 2014 IWRF World Championships in Odense.

ⒸBrian Mouridsen / IWRF

By Beau Greenway | For the IPC

Wednesday (6 August), day three of the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) World Championships in Odense, Denmark, features another seven fixtures between the 12 best wheelchair rugby nations in the world.

Following their loss to Australia on Tuesday, Great Britain will most likely need to win all of their remaining matches this week to maintain any hope of progressing to the next stage. They take on a Finnish side high in confidence after a come from behind win against Belgium.

Australia play their second game of the tournament against Belgium who have the smallest squad of all the teams in Odense. They will start as overwhelming favourites to dispose of the No.9 ranked team.

European champions Sweden then take on the might of the USA at 12:30 local time and need to win after going down to Japan on day two.

Fresh off their win against Sweden, Japan will be after a third victory when they clash with New Zealand. The Wheelblacks saw first-hand how good the USA were yesterday and need to bounce back if they want to be involved at the business end of the tournament.

France and Germany will both be chasing their first win of the week. The two European nations may not be in contention for the big prize but will have a lot of pride on the line during this match.

The host nation also find themselves in a tough situation after their loss to Canada yesterday. They must now find another level and push Australia to the limit for a slight chance of a semi-final berth to be a reality.

Closing Wednesday will be Finland in their second game of the day when they play an in-form Canada. Great Britain and Canada are very evenly matched so the Finns will be hoping for two strong performances today.

If any team has two losses next to their name by the end of the day, it is unlikely they will be in the hunt for the medals on Sunday.

Do not forget to tune into the live stream for all seven matches on the World Championship website or follow live commentary on Facebook and Twitter.