Canada into round of 16 after another solid defensive display
Another game, another clean sheet.
Canada is off to the round of 16 at the Women's World Cup, as goals from Jessie Fleming and Nichelle Prince secured a 2-0 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to clinch a place in the knockout stages.
It's the ninth shutout in the last 10 matches for Kenneth Heiner-Moller's squad, which will now meet the Netherlands on Thursday in a critical clash that will determine which of the two sides earns the top spot in Group E.
The final whistle in Grenoble brought with it a pair of firsts for Canada; the team had never before opened a World Cup with two consecutive victories, and hadn't advanced past the group stage in any of the previous tournaments that were hosted outside of North America.
It was a largely tedious attacking display from the Canadians - not dissimilar to the 1-0 win over Cameroon in their tournament opener - but Prince was once again a bright spot. The 24-year-old forward set up Fleming's 48th-minute tally with a strong run down the left wing, and then cemented the result with a scrappy goal of her own 11 minutes from the final whistle.
She'll look to replicate that performance Thursday against the Dutch, who sit atop Group E by virtue of having scored more goals than Canada in their first two matches.
Led by Arsenal superstar Vivianne Miedema, the Netherlands beat Cameroon 3-1 earlier Saturday.