Danish skipper Niels-Kristian Iversen is 'all up for winning' as his country bids to bounce back from their 2015 World Cup final last-heat heartbreak in this year's opener at Vojens tonight.

This evening's hosts Denmark take on Poland, Russia and the Czech Republic in Event One, with the winners advancing to the final to join Great Britain in Manchester a week today. The second and third-placed teams line up in the Race Off, also at Britain's National Speedway Stadium, on Friday.

King's Lynn Stars' Iversen saw his dreams of a fifth gold medal cruelly dashed when he was excluded from the final race of last year's event with Sweden the beneficiaries. The Lynn ace and his team-mates had to make do with runners-up medals.

Iversen said: 'It's a new tournament and a new year, so we start afresh. It's a long way from the first round to winning the final, so we have a lot of work ahead of us. We know that. But the way it ended last year left a sour taste and we're all up for winning.'

Sweden, Australia, USA and Germany lock horns in the next meeting on Tuesday – which operates under exactly the same format as tonight's 'semi-final'.