The North American rivals played out a scintillating semi-final with neither side able to grab a commanding lead and after normal time the scores were locked at 54-54.

But, led by star man Zak Madell, the Canadians reached their third World Championship decider as they secured the vital two scores in overtime to emerge with a 56-54 win.

"I feel absolutely incredible, we always have close games with the US, they are our biggest rival and today we managed to come out on top," said Madell.

"We came out fired up, we had a rough loss to them at our zone qualifiers last year and we kept that in the back of our minds over the whole year while we were training for the tournament.

"Everybody on the team was so positive, no one lost hope at any time and, because of that, we managed to claw our way back into the game.

"I am hoping we can carry this momentum forward and maybe go get ourselves a gold medal."

Zak Madell led the Canadian challenge as they defeated the US in today's semi-final
©Brian Mouridsen/Danish NPC




The US were aiming for as a fifth world title but it was not to be and disappointed captain Joe Delagrave said afterwards: "It feels terrible, our goal all along was to be number one and be the world champions."

Canada will face Australia in a repeat of the gold medal match at London 2012 and will be out to reverse that result.

The Australians oozed class in their match against Japan and will be seen as favourites to add a first World Championship title to their Paralympic crown in tomorrow's final.

Once again, Ryley Batt was the main man for Brad Dubberley's side, scoring an incredible 32 goals in a 60-49 rout of world number four side Japan.

Chris Bond and Jayden Warn chipped in with 15 and nine goals respectively as the Australians secured their sixth straight win in Odense.

"It's a massive win for us," said Australian captain Ryan Scott.

"It is always very tough playing against Japan, but even more so in a semi-final of a World Championship, but we matched them really well today.

"This is where we wanted to be and it was great to through.

"Everyone has done their jobs, but we know we still have one game to go."

Australia had too much firepower for Japan in Odense today ©Brian Mouridsen/Danish NPC



Australia have already beaten the Canadians during the group stages at the Arena Fyn, but Scott is anticipating another tough challenge in the final.

"Canada are going to be such a tough opponent for us," added Scott.

"We have seen how much homework they have done, and when they come out on court, they always have very good tactics.

"They're animals.

"They play so hard."

In the day's other classification games, Germany defeated Belgium 50-36 to finish 11th while France overcame Finland 59-48 to claim ninth place.

The rest of the classification games will take place tomorrow prior to the bronze medal and gold medal matches.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related Stories
August 2014: Australia and the United States emerge unbeaten as semi-final line-up decided in Odense
August 2014: Canada scrape past Great Britain to remain unbeaten at Wheelchair Rugby World Championships
August 2014: Top seeds dominate at Wheelchair Rugby World Championships
August 2014: Top seeds secure convincing wins on day two of Wheelchair Rugby World Championships
August 2014: Hosts Denmark open up with win at Wheelchair Rugby World Championships