Group 2 and Group 5 in final crunch matchesArticle
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PREVIEW: Romania take on Italy and nervously await Sunday’s results, and Czech Republic meet Turkey in the last matches of the first phase of the Men's World Championship 2017 Qualification.

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Group 2 and Group 5 in final crunch matches

Romania are set to celebrate their second win of the week when they continue their Men's World Championship 2017 Qualification campaign against Italy on Saturday in Group 2.

But the win will not be enough to determine their fate – they also rely on Austria losing their final round meeting against Finland.

Though Romania top the table at present, they are equal with Austria on eight points. If both teams win their remaining qualification match of this phase, Romania will lose the ticket to the next round as Austria beat them on away goals.

Still, they will enter the game against Italy with nothing to lose and every hope that they can record the result they need and count on Finland to do their job against Austria.

As Romania won the first-leg encounter against Italy by a decisive 13-goal margin, they are the firm favourites to claim the win here.

In Group 5 Czech Republic face Turkey, and this match is the decider and will determine which team proceeds to the next round.

Turkey are on top of the table on six points and Czech Republic are right behind them on four, which means the place in the World Championship 2017 Play-offs could go to either side.

For Czech Republic it is simple – they must win by four to qualify for the next phase.

Turkey won their first encounter 27:24 on Tuesday, but as they were playing at home they are not considered the more dominant team – actually it seems a rather unpredictable contest, though it is difficult to deny Czech Republic the edge.


TEXT: Courtney Gahan / ts
 
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