Women's World Cup Recap: Miedema Smashes Goalscoring Record as Netherlands and Canada Make Last 16

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema became the Netherlands' all-time top goalscorer on Saturday, as she fired her 59th and 60th international goals against

Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema became the Netherlands' all-time top goalscorer on Saturday, as she fired her 59th and 60th international goals against Cameroon to fire the European champions into the last 16. 

The Dutch became the fifth side to make the cut with a game to spare and were later joined by Canada, as they showed their class in a distinctly dominant 2-0 victory over New Zealand in the later game. 

Here's our breakdown of both of Saturday's games, to get you in the mood for another day of World Cup action.

Netherlands 3-1 Cameroon

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Arsenal striker Vivianne Miedema will celebrate her 23rd birthday next month, but has already accomplished more in her career than most established professionals can dream of. Her 22 goals in the Women's Super League last season won her the golden boot and the PFA Women's Player of the Year award, and now with 60 goals in 77 international appearances, she is the Netherlands' all-time top scorer.

She is vying to add a World Cup to a trophy collection that already includes a European Championship and a WSL trophy, and with the team around her in this sort of form, she looks well-placed to do just that. The Netherlands were comfortable favourites to get the better of Cameroon, but in doing so showed the sort of gritty resolve that has been known to win major tournaments. 

🔥 RECORD-BREAKER 🔥

6️⃣0️⃣ goals
7️⃣7️⃣ caps

What an achievement at just 22 years of age, @VivianneMiedema 👏 pic.twitter.com/qbEAmqAp8m

— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) June 15, 2019

They went ahead with five minutes to go until half-time when some terrific link-up play down the right freed up Lyon winger Shanice van de Sanden to whip a venomous cross into the area. Miedema - quiet until this point - did what she does, planting her head on it and giving her side a deserved lead.

A defensive mix-up would immediately allow Gabrielle Onguene to calmly head the ball past Sari van Veenendaal before slotting in an equaliser, and Sarina Wiegman's side could have collapsed from there, but instead responded with a dominant second-half display.

PHILIPPE HUGUEN/GettyImages

Miedema's club team-mate Dominique Bloodworth set the tone, tapping in from a set-piece just three minutes after the break, and the pick of the goals would come from the woman herself with just five minutes remaining, as she charged into the area to blast home the decisive strike.

The run-in won't be easy, but it was a performance much more reflective of the Netherlands' ability than in the opening day win over New Zealand, and if they can keep the upward trend going, then they can consider themselves a serious contender. 

 Canada 2-0 New Zealand

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In the later kick-off, Canada did their own burgeoning aspirations no harm, as they too made sure of their progress at the expense of New Zealand.

The Football Ferns are regulars at the World Cup, having qualified for the last three, but have never made it beyond the group stages, and weren't really expected to this time around either. Regardless, they turned in a spirited performance in their first game in France, losing to the Dutch by a single goal, and showed signs of the same here, finding themselves unlucky not to go in front after a manic goalmouth scramble in the first half. 

Their lack of attacking quality was eventually telling however. Finding themselves pinned back for long stretches, and failing to muster a single shot on target, there was a feeling of inevitability about Jessie Fleming's 48th-minute opener, before Nichelle Prince tapped in on the line from a rebound to put it to bed with ten minutes remaining. 

Elsa/GettyImages

Canada, to their credit, managed the game expertly in what was a potential banana skin. There is only so much football you can play against a team happy to relinquish possession and sit deep inside their own half, but Les Rouges kept their patience and found a way - even without the talismanic Christine Sinclair at anything close to her best. 

It all means they will face their toughest test so far when they come to blows with the Netherlands in their final group match on Thursday, with both sides looking to finish as group winners and move onto the knockout phase with some momentum behind them.

Neither New Zealand or Cameroon have any chance of recovering second place, but any victor in the clash between them will have a reasonable chance of advancing as one of the better third-placed sides.