Japan have been rocked by the loss of their captain Wataru Endo on the eve of the World Cup.
Liverpool midfielder Endo has been forced to withdraw from Japan’s squad due to injury.
The 33-year-old sustained a foot injury in February but was nevertheless included in Japan’s squad. He played 45 minutes against Iceland in a pre-tournament friendly.
However, that has proved to be Endo’s final appearance for his country, as he confirmed his international retirement.
“Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever,” Endo posted on social media.
“Of course, there’s frustration at not being able to participate in this World Cup, but more than that, I’m proud of how we’ve grown together since the Qatar World Cup – me as captain, leading this team and turning our goal of ‘winning the World Cup’ into something we can say as a matter of course.
発表にあった通りW杯メンバーから離脱する事になりました。
怪我をしてからここまで、自分にできることは全てやってきたので何も後悔はありません。…— 遠藤 航 (Wataru Endo) (@wataru0209) June 11, 2026
“The current team is truly a wonderful team. I believe they will overcome any adversity and show us sights we’ve never seen before.
“With this campaign, I will be retiring from the national team. So from here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.
“The moment when the Japan national team wins the World Cup will surely come someday. Let’s believe in that and cheer them on together. And let’s unite Japan’s strength as one so that moment comes in this tournament. Everyone, give it everything you’ve got.”
Shuto Machino has been called up in Endo’s place.
Japan will face the Netherlands, Sweden and Tunisia in Group F.
This will be Japan’s eighth consecutive World Cup appearance – a run stretching back to 1998.
It is the second-longest run of consecutive participations by an Asian nation behind South Korea’s current run of 11. However, Japan have never progressed beyond the last 16.
In fact, they hold the record for the most matches played without ever reaching the quarter-finals at the tournament (25).
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