Iwabuchi, Sasaki said with a laugh, went from "not yet" to right now.
Some 15 minutes after entering the game, Iwabuchi scored during a scramble in front in the 87th minute to secure a 1-0 victory in the Women's World Cup quarterfinals Saturday.
"Her first name is Mana. And in Japanese, 'Not yet, not yet,' would be 'mada,' so (the words) are very close," Sasaki said through a translator. "And it didn't take her too long as far as she's concerned."
The fourth-ranked Japanese will stay in Edmonton, where they will play England in the semifinals Wednesday. England beat Canada 2-1 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Patience and fresh legs paid off for the defending champions, as their ball-controlling style combined with the 90-degree temperatures gradually wore down the 10th-ranked Australians.
Though Aya Miyama's corner kick was headed out of the penalty area, the ball bounced directly to Rumi Utsugi, who immediately sent it back toward the goal. Azusa Iwashimizu had her shot stopped by Lydia Williams, but the goalkeeper was unable to control the rebound.
The ball squirted to the left, where Iwabuchi knocked it the open side.
"The difficulty was the heat," said Utsugi, who was named player of the match for setting up the goal. "However, throughout the game, the resolve of all members to keep it up to the end was the challenge. However, we did manage to do that."
Japan is a perfect 5-0 in Canada, and has won eight straight since winning the 2011 tournament in Germany, when it beat the United Stated 2-2 in penalty kicks in the championship game. The Nedeshiko are now two victories from becoming the second nation to win consecutive tournaments after Germany won in 2003 and '07.
The Matildas go home after making their deepest run in tournament history. The 10th-ranked team won its first elimination game by upsetting seventh-ranked Brazil in the round of 16.
"Obviously disappointed at the result, but when you look at the big scheme of things, we lost 1-0," coach Alen Stajcic said. "It was 1-0 in the 88th minute off a scrappy corner. It's not as if we were humiliated."
They were, however, beaten by a team that showed more composure and patience.
The Matildas exerted too much energy chasing the ball in the first 20 minutes. And when they finally got possession, the Australians too often gave the ball right back to Japan.
"Certainly (the Japanese) were a lot more composed throughout the 90 minutes," Stajcic said. "It's a heart-breaking experience for all of us. But sometimes you learn the most from these experiences."
Japan has gone 4-0-1 in its past five meetings against its Asian regional rival, and is 8-1-1 in its past 10 games.
The Australians did a better job than Japan's previous tournament opponents in bottling up the middle and pressuring the ball carrier to disrupt the Nadeshiko's crisp, short-passing style.
But the Japanese attack finally wore down Australia in the second half.
In the 77th minute, Saori Ariyoshi broke free up the middle only to have her shot blocked by Kellond-Knight.
Japan had the best scoring opportunity of the first half. It happened in the 22nd minute off an Australian turnover.
Nahomi Kawasumi burst free up the right wing and threaded a perfect pass into the penalty area, where Shinobu Ohno punched the ball just over the open right side of the goal.
Some four minutes later, the Australians responded off a great run by Samantha Kerr, who was bowled over by Iwashimizu, who was issued a yellow card. That set up a free kick from 25 yards out. Alanna Kennedy took the kick, but curled her shot well wide of the right post.
Sasaki was pleased with how his team didn't let down following several missed scoring chances.
"I was thinking that even if we didn't have a goal in 90 minutes, we would certainly do that by 120 minutes," Sasaki said. "While we do recognize the big growth of the Australian team in this World Cup, I think the result of this match has given confidence to the Japanese players."
England eliminates host Canada in World Cup Q-final, 2-1
Nepal defeats Australia in Hong Kong Sixes
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, jUNE 28: Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze scored in the shocking first 14 minutes, and England eliminated Canada from its home World Cup with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Lionesses overcame a frenzied Canadian crowd at BC Place and a second-half goalkeeper change to secure their nation's first trip to the semifinals.
England crushed the hopes of a host nation hoping to celebrate Canada's first World Cup title on this same field next month.
Instead, England will face defending champion Japan in the semifinals in Edmonton, Alberta, on Wednesday — which also happens to be Canada Day.
Christine Sinclair scored in the 42nd minute for Canada, which had given up just one goal in the entire World Cup before giving up two more just three minutes apart.
After Taylor scored the opener on a horrible turnover by Lauren Sesselmann, Bronze added an impressive long header to build a lead that England never relinquished.
Although Sinclair got one back before halftime, Canada struggled to generate many good chances in the waning minutes of the scoreless second half. The drought slowly crushed the crowd of 54,027, most wearing red and supporting their plucky, defense-minded team.
Siobhan Chamberlain replaced England goalie Karen Bardsley early in the second half when Bardsley complained about a problem with her right eye. Chamberlain is on her third World Cup team, but got about 30 seconds to warm up for her first appearance.
England's surge into the quarterfinals has raised attention to the perpetually overlooked Lionesses, and the strong backing of Prince William further increased the spotlight. Now they're two wins away from their first World Cup — something their male counterparts haven't won since 1966.
The sellout crowd banged drums and sang as it welcomed Canada back to Vancouver, where it beat Switzerland 1-0 last weekend to reach its first quarterfinal since 2003.
Sinclair got the crowd on its feet in the eighth minute with a tremendous rush down the sideline, nutmegging two players before making a tremendous sweeping pass that left Melissa Tancredi one-on-one with the goalie — but Canada's oldest starter missed the net badly.
And in the 11th minute, Taylor pounced when the ball got away from a falling Sesselman, dodged another defender and tucked a shot past Erin McLeod for her first goal of the tournament.
With the crowd still in disbelief, Bronze doubled the Lionesses' lead in the 14th minute by heading Fara Williams' long pass off the crossbar and in for her second goal of the World Cup. England's bench players leaped onto the field in elation, joined by the small English contingent in the vast crowd.
Canada might have been shocked, but Sinclair wasn't shaken.
The British Columbia player in her fourth World Cup had scored just once in the first four games, and that on a penalty. When Bardsley, a Cal State Fullerton product, lost the ball on a save in the 42nd minute, Sinclair tucked it home for her 155th international goal, and BC Place roared to life again.
England controlled long stretches of play after Chamberlain came on, but Canada eventually pushed.
Sophie Schmidt had perhaps Canada's best late chance in the 83rd minute, but put a low pass high over England's net. Sinclair put a header well wide off a corner kick in the 90th minute, and England ran out the clock on a dramatic victory
