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Canada into round of 16 after another solid defensive display

Elsa / Getty Images Sport / Getty

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.

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