Ireland beat Canada by 155 runs the at the M.A. Aziz Stadium in Chittagong on Wednesday to join hosts Bangladesh in the semi-finals of the Plate Championship of the Under-19 World Cup with a match to spare.
Ireland have been the most consistent of the ICC Associate Member countries at the World Cup and claimed an emphatic victory over a Canada side that has yet to register a win in the tournament.
Ireland batted first after winning the toss and six of their top seven made solid contributions as they steadily scored at five-an-over to build an imposing target.
William Porterfield and Eion Morgan both reached 40 while Kevin O'Brien top-scored with 51.
Despite a late flurry of wickets as the lower order tried in vain to up the run-rate, Ireland were able to bat out their full 50 overs to reach 265 for 9.
No side in the tournament has been able to successfully chase a target of over 250 and Canada never looked capable of rising to the challenge.
Six Irish bowlers picked up wickets as Canada were bowled out for 110 in 34.3 overs.
Ireland must now beat Bangladesh on Friday to avoid favourites Australia in the semi-final.
"We want to reach the Plate final," said Ireland coach Adrian Birrell.
"We have played very well in our last two matches and we seem to be improving match by match.
"We have no specific plan for the Bangladesh match but if we play this well I think we have a chance of winning."
Canada coach Franklyn Dennis is targeting a victory in the final group match.
"We have not won any matches yet but the players have learned a lot from the experience of playing against good sides," said Dennis.
"I hope that they can use this experience to get a positive result against Uganda in our last match."
