Japan Captain Wataru Endo Ruled Out of 2026 World Cup
- Tournament Exit: Japan captain Wataru Endo has officially withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup squad following a persistent foot injury.
- International Retirement: The 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder has announced his immediate retirement from international football, ending an 11-year career.
- Squad Rotation: Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Shuto Machino has been called up as the official replacement, while Ajax defender Ko Itakura takes over the captain's armband.
The Samurai Blue football team, they are facing a rather big problem w͏ith their player lineup, you see, and this is just a few days before their first match in the tournament. Wataru Endo, who is the team captain, he is often called the heartbeat of Japan’s midfield, will not be able to p͏lay in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This is because he did not get better from a Lisfranc injury. This injury happened during the club season he was playing in. Even though he went through a lot of recovery efforts, including surgery back in February, the medical staff and the manager, Haj͏ime Moriyasu, they made the decision. They decided to pull the veteran leader off the roster.
Endo, he played for his country 73 times. He said goodbye to the national team in an emotional message on social media. Thinking back over his time since the 2022 World Cup which was in Qatar, he said he was very proud of how the squad had grown. "I am proud that I led and developed with a team who naturally talks about winning the World Cup as our goal," Endo mentioned. "I have no regrets, not one. From now on now, I will just be supporting Japan as another fan," was his statement.
The leadership change already started at Japan’s training base there in Nashville, Tennessee. Masakuni Yamamoto, he is the national team director, did confirm that Ko Itakura, a defender from Ajax, is now captain. He will lead the team through th͏eir Group F matches. Also, Shuto Machino has joined the squad, this will make the attacking options stronger as Japan gets ready for their first game against the Netherlands on June 14, in Dallas.
Now, this departure, it comes at a tough time for a player who, in many ways, represented Japan's growing ambitions on the global stage. Endo had really established himself, playing a key defensive role for Liverpool and for the national team. His absence leaves a pretty big hole in the midfield. Still, the squad is concentrating on the matches ahead, against the Netherlands and then Tunisia and Sweden too. They are carrying forward the momentum that Endo helped build up over these last four years.