Japan captain Endo withdraws from World Cup squad, retires

Japan captain Wataru Endo has withdrawn from the 2026 FIFA World Cup squad and announced his immediate retirement from international football, dealing a significant blow to the team just days before its opening match. The 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder failed to recover from a serious foot injury sustained in February.

Endo suffered the injury during a Premier League match against Sunderland on February 11, an incident that ended his club season and required surgery. He underwent extensive rehabilitation and was named to Japan's preliminary World Cup roster, even returning to Liverpool's matchday squad as an unused substitute for the final game of the season in May. His last appearance for Japan was a 45-minute stint in a warm-up victory over Iceland on May 31, after which he was substituted due to discomfort.

After joining the national team camp in Nashville, Tennessee, medical assessments confirmed he was not fit to compete in the tournament. In a social media post announcing his decision, Endo expressed a mix of frustration and pride. "Since my injury, I've done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever," he wrote. "Of course, there's...