Injury, absence, and international retirement.. Japanese Endo is out of the World Cup sports

Japan’s national team captain, Wataru Endo, was confirmed to be absent from the 2026 World Cup due to injury, and he also announced his retirement from international football on Thursday, three days before his country’s opening match against the Netherlands.

The English Liverpool midfielder withdrew from the tournament after failing to recover from a foot injury, and was replaced in the Asian team’s roster by German Borussia Mönchengladbach player Shoto Machino.

Endo (33 years old) said on social media that he was “frustrated” at not being able to play, but he expressed his support for his team in the sixth group in which it faces the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden.

He wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter): “There will definitely come a time in the future when Japan wins the World Cup, so let’s believe in it and support the team.”

He added: “Let us unite the strength of Japan so that this dream can be achieved in this tournament in North America.”

Endo suffered a foot injury that ended his season while participating with Liverpool in a match against Sunderland in February, before returning to participate with Japan in a 1-0 friendly win over Iceland in Tokyo on May 31.

But he left at halftime in that match, and continued to feel uncomfortable during the World Cup preparatory camp in Mexico, where he did not participate in any full training session.

He participated in training when the Japanese national team moved to its residence in Nashville on Monday, but he was unable to regain full readiness in time before the start of the competitions.

“I have done everything I can since my injury, so I have no regrets,” Endo said.

He added: “Of course I am disappointed because I cannot play in this World Cup.”

He continued: “But more than that, I am proud that I have been the captain of this team since the World Cup in Qatar, and I contributed to its development into a team whose goal is naturally to win the World Cup.”

Endo played his first international match with Japan in 2015, and ends his career with 73 international matches, during which he scored four goals.

He was part of Japan’s squad for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and participated in the stunning victories over Germany and Spain in Qatar.