World Cup of Darts 2020 preview and schedule: Friday 6 November, afternoon session

It's late autumn in Austria rather than a German summer, but we've got a World Cup of Darts.

There have been some casualties of the unprecedented situation; we won't have either China or Singapore, which means no Paul Lim. If you're still reading and haven't closed this article in disgust at that, good for you. We're also without the Scottish pair of Peter Wright and Gary Anderson, meaning there aren't any defending champions in the field - though the Scots are well-represented, of course. We lost Kim Viljanen and Cristo Reyes too, but there are 64 players ready to make this another memorable World Cup of Darts.

Our opening tie isn't the most glamorous, but there are a couple of interesting stories. Mindaugas Barauskas is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Darius Labanauskas in representing Lithuania as a solo act. For now, his job's to form a strong team, after last year's effort ended in a meek defeat. Gibraltar have an entirely new pairing, and a very youthful one at that. Ever-present Dyson Parody is gone, Craig Galliano and Justin Hewitt are in. They've made up the numbers in most World Cup appearances - can the Gibraltarians change that this time?

Jose de Sousa has dragged Portugal into the reckoning, making his nation the first reserve. He and Jose Marques have been parachuted in to replace Singapore, a nation with a record for making waves at the World Cup. To do that, Portugal will first have to beat the Hungarian team of Patrik Kovács and János Végső.

On paper, New Zealand have got one of those teams that can give anyone problems. Cody Harris and Haupai Puha did just that last year, making it to the quarter-finals. Opponents Denmark have also retained the 2019 team, with veteran Per Laursen joining Niels Heinsøe.

Northern Ireland have always been a seed, but they've always been one of the most vulnerable seeds going. They've exited at the first stage in two of the past three years, and neither Daryl Gurney nor Brendan Dolan has been in sterling form. The exciting Canadian team of Jeff Smith and Matt Campbell could pose a real threat, with the former giving plenty of stage experience and the latter being a precocious talent.

Belgium open their campaign with high hopes; Dimitri van den Bergh, now a major champion, will team up with Kim Huybrechts again. They're a good team, and their half of the draw looks wide open. But this first hurdle is bigger than it seems. Karel Sedlacek and youth sensation Adam Gawlas both have plenty of quality, especially if they start strong in this speedy first round format.

If Northern Ireland are a vulnerable top nation, Austria have prime real estate on the cliff's edge. They've never so much as reached a semi-final and while Mensur Suljovic is heading back to his best (despite a number of early big stage exits in the past year), Rowby-John Rodriguez is a shadow of his former self. Like North American neighbours Canada, the USA have a dynamic new team in Chuck Puleo and Danny Lauby Jnr. That being said, Austria managed to overcome the States last year, with Mensur Suljovic averaging 113 in a 4-0 whitewash of Puleo in their singles rubber.

England bounce into this World Cup as the top seeds, but how many are fully confident in them? Michael Smith's form has been in and out, but he's been on fire compared to Rob Cross, whose 2020 is best forgotten bar a run to the final of the World Series Finals. The Philippines might be the worst draw they could have. Lourence Ilagan and Noel Malicdem are brilliant, but should the Filipino duo succeed, the headlines will proclaim a massive World Cup humiliation. That's just how it works.

Rounding off the evening is Spain, architects of the greatest surprise run in World Cup history a decade ago. Toni Alcinas was around back then; Jesus Noguera, by contrast, is a first-timer. They'll be the big favourites against the Italian pair of Andrea Micheletti and Daniele Petri, with a possible second round game against the Netherlands up for grabs.

Lithuania v Gibraltar
Portugal v Hungary
New Zealand v Denmark
Northern Ireland v Canada
Belgium v Czech Republic
Austria v USA
England v Philippines
Italy v Spain