Two of speedway’s biggest superpowers have booked their place in the Monster Energy Speedway World Cup Final this weekend after two awesome opening events.Event One took place in Vojens, Denmark and a young Poland side shocked home favourites Denmark to qualify straight through to Saturday’s Final, while reigning champions Sweden overcame a determined Australia team in Event Two to give them the chance to retain their crown.Those two will join Great Britain in the Final in Manchester, UK, with the final team to qualify to be decided on Friday when Denmark, Russia, Australia and USA go bar-to-bar in the cut-throat Race-Off.In Event One, Poland’s young guns had too much ammunition for the more experienced Danish side but it wasn’t plain sailing by any means. Vojens may be one of the sleepier places on the calendar but the Danish public turn out in force when the speedway comes to town and a partisan crowd packed into the arena hoping to see their team thwart the Polish charge, but even their vocal support couldn’t deny the nerveless Poles.Even though Poland led from Heat Two right through to the end, Denmark only finished three points behind and the Polish boys seemed to do their best to make things difficult for themselves.Maciej Janowski was disqualified from Heat 16 and Bartez Zmarzlik from Heat 18 but the Danes just couldn’t take advantage and they have to settle for a place in the Race-Off alongside dark horses Russia, who could be a real threat on Friday if they can track a full-strength side.Event Two saw Sweden take on Australia, Team USA and an always-improving Germany – and the champs were a class above in front of thousands of expectant fans.After a shaky start the Swedes drew inspiration from the home crowd to dominate the race, not finishing outside of the top two after Heat One and eventually winning by 11 points.Australia, led by Monster Energy’s Chris Holder, gave as good as they got. Holder and fellow GP star Jason Doyle won five races between them and gave the Swedish team a real scare, but it was Sweden’s strength in depth that won out in the end.Even though he’s disappointed not to qualify straight through to the Final, Holder is confident they can do something in Friday’s Race-Off; “We started off really good and it looked promising but then we got some outside gates and then Sweden were probably a bit stronger all round.“I didn’t really perform the way I wanted to and I need to do a little bit better, but Doyley was really good and it was great for the young guys to get a taste for it all as well.“All in all, we survived and it’s on to Manchester. Most of the boys have ridden at the track there, so we’ll practice on Friday and then it’s wide open so we’ll see how we go. We’ve got to step it up a little bit.”Team USA was always going to be battling for a place in the Race-Off and they delivered yet again, inspired by team captain and current Speedway GP leader Greg Hancock.‘Grin’s’ record in the Speedway World Cup is simply unbelievable and that didn’t change here. He scored 17 of USA’s 22 points and knows they have achieved their goal.“We came here and did the job we set out to do, getting to the Race-Off was our most achievable goal, being realistic, and we did that. It was a really tough fight, we knew it was going to be hard but I didn't think it would be as close as it was.“We’ve got to make some vast improvements for Manchester, we’re there and we’re learning all the time but we’ve being say that for four or five years now. It’s time to step it up and show these guys that we really want to be a player in the very near future.”Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium is the venue for the Race-Off and Final and they are going to be epic races, with some of the world’s top riders battling it out for their countries to claim the glory. You will not want to miss one second of the action!Monster Energy Speedway World Cup Event One Result;1 – Poland (39 points) – qualify for Final2 – Denmark (36 points) - qualify for Race-Off3 – Russia (32 points) – qualify for Race-Off4 – Czech Republic (19 points) – eliminatedMonster Energy Speedway World Cup Event Two Result;1 – Sweden (48 points) – qualify for Final2 – Australia (37 points) – qualify for Race-Off3 – USA (22 points) - qualify for Race-Off4 – Germany (19 points) – eliminatedLine-up for Monster Energy Speedway World Cup Race-OffDenmark, Russia, Australia, USA – winner qualifies to the Final