World Championship 2015 Qualification enters peak phase

It takes only eleven days until five participants for the European play-offs that decide about the continent's participants at the World Championship 2015 in Qatar will be known.

From 2 to 5 January and from 8 to 12 January Rounds 3 to 6 will be played across Europe. 20 teams, that have been drawn to five groups of four nations each, vie for the first spots as only the group winners make it to the next stage.

The European Handball Federation has once again set up its live ticker that allows everyone to follow the matches.

In Group 1 Lithuania currently occupies rank no.1 following wins against Georgia and Turkey. They will now meet Finland (one win, one loss) in a double-header on 2 and 4 January.

Group 2 is topped by unbeaten Romania. They are likely to increase their lead as they meet Cyprus, who lost their first two matches, on 2 and 5 January.

In Group 3 Ukraine (two wins) can make a major step towards the play-offs if they win their double-header against Switzerland (one win, one loss) on 2 and 5 January.

Everything is open in Group 4 in which all four teams, Netherlands, Greece, Belgium and Israel, have lost and won one match each. In Rounds 3 and 4 Israel face Greece in a double-header while Netherlands meet Belgium.

A decision about the top spot might be made in Group 5 as Latvia meet Bosnia and Herzegovina in a double-header on 2 and 5 January. Both teams have won their first two matches and are therefore level with four points each.

Rounds 5 and 6 will be played from 8 to 12 January 2014.