Australia has dropped to fifth place at the World Curling Championships after the team’s last four matches yielded two wins and two losses.

The Hugh Millikin-skippered team defeated the United States 6-4 and Switzerland 7-6, but went down to France and Scotland, both with a 4-6 scoreline.

Canada leads the competition with eight wins and one loss, after losing in a surprise result to China.

France, Norway and Scotland are tied for second place on five wins and three losses from eight matches, while the Australia team has five wins and four losses from the nine games it has played.

China and Germany are tied for sixth place, each with four wins and four losses.

The Australian team of Millikin, Ian Palangio, Sean Hall, Steve Johns and Steve Hewitt face China and Norway in their final round robin encounters, and will then contest any tie-breaker rounds necessary to decide the four teams for the semi-finals.

A top six placing at the end of the tournament should be enough to deliver Australia a berth at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games.