Lianne Sanderson scored twice and England defeated Canada 2-0 Monday at the Cyprus Cup women's soccer tournament in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Sanderson put England on the board quickly with a goal in the first minute, and then scored again in the 33rd to give her team a comfortable lead heading into the half.

Canada tried to come back in the second half but England defended well and held on for the win. Siobhan Chamberlain earned the clean sheet for England.

"We know at this level, the first goal is probably the most important feature. It gives you the upper hand in the tactics," Canada coach John Herdman said. "So England, from that point could drop a lower block and hit us on the counter, which is what they did."

England clinched first place in Group A with the win and moved on to the final. Canada fell to 2-1 and will play in the third-place match.

"I think today we were very resilient," Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod said. "We came out in the second half 2-0 down and we kept fighting and I thought we played really well in the second half. I believe this team will do the same thing in our next game."