Japan’s Wataru Endo retires after injury ends World Cup 2026 dream
Japan captain Wataru Endo is out of the World Cup with a foot injury and has retired from international football. He said he was frustrated but will support the team from home.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Wataru Endo’s World Cup dream ended days before Japan’s opener after he failed to recover from a foot injury. The Liverpool midfielder leaves the national team with 73 caps and four goals, but says he believes Japan can still win the tournament one day.
Japan’s team lost its captain right before the World Cup because of a hurt foot that never got better. It is like a class captain missing the big field day, but he says he still believes the team can win someday.
Analysis
What happened
Japan’s captain Wataru Endo has been ruled out of the 2026 World Cup after failing to recover from a foot injury, and he has announced his retirement from international football. The decision came just three days before Japan were due to open their tournament against the Netherlands.
Endo, who plays for Liverpool, first suffered a season-ending foot injury in February in a match against Sunderland. He later returned to action for Japan in a friendly win over Iceland on May 31, but he came off at half-time and still felt discomfort afterward. During Japan’s pre-World Cup camp in Mexico, he was not involved in full training sessions. He did train after the squad moved to Nashville, but not enough to reach match fitness in time.
Japan’s response
Japan replaced Endo in the squad with Shuto Machino of Borussia Monchengladbach. Endo said on social media that he was frustrated at missing the tournament, but he backed Japan to do well in Group F, which includes the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden.
He also said he had no regrets because he had done everything he could since the injury. Endo added that he was proud to have captained Japan since the Qatar World Cup and help shape a team that now talks openly about winning the World Cup.
Career note
Endo made his Japan debut in 2015. He leaves international football with 73 appearances and four goals. He was part of Japan’s squads for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and featured in Japan’s famous wins over Germany and Spain in Qatar.
Key points
- Wataru Endo was ruled out of the World Cup with a foot injury and announced his retirement from Japan’s national team.
- He had been trying to recover after injuring his foot in February in a Liverpool match against Sunderland.
- Japan replaced him in the squad with Shuto Machino.
- Endo said he was frustrated, but he backed Japan to do well in Group F.
- He retires with 73 caps and four goals for Japan, after playing in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
Japan still has time to regroup before its opener, and Endo’s replacement gives the squad a chance to adjust and move forward. Endo’s public support may also boost the team’s confidence as it enters a difficult group.
Losing the captain days before kickoff can disrupt leadership, midfield stability, and morale at a sensitive moment. If Japan struggles early in Group F, the absence of one of its most experienced players could become a major setback.
