EDMONTON, Alberta — Japanese coach Norio Sasaki couldn’t resist making a joke at Mana Iwabuchi’s expense when explaining his decision to substitute the forward in during the second half against Australia on Saturday.
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.
Iwabuchi had nearly scored a minute earlier, but her shot was blocked by Elise Kellond-Knight, which led to a corner kick.
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.
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.
Copa america
Paraguay again eliminates Brazil
CONCEPCION, Chile —Paraguay beat Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw Saturday night to advance to the semifinals of the Copa America, handing the five-time world champions yet another disappointment a year after the humiliating World Cup elimination at home.
Midfielder Everton Ribeiro and striker Douglas Costa each missed penalties for Brazil, and Derlis Gonzalez converted the winning spot-kick for Paraguay, setting up a match against Argentina on Tuesday. Chile will face Peru on Monday in the other semifinal.
It was the second consecutive time that Paraguay eliminated Brazil on penalties in the quarterfinals of the South American tournament. It went on to lose the 2011 final to Uruguay.
While Paraguay will try to reach the final for the second straight time, Brazil will go home still yet to achieve a success that would help bury the memory of the humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany at its home World Cup last year.
Brazil opened the scoring with a goal by veteran striker Robinho in the 15th and maintained the lead until the 72nd minute when Gonzalez converted a penalty awarded for handball by defender Thiago Silva.