Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan's national football team, has announced his retirement from international football after failing to recover from a foot injury in time for the 2026 World Cup, dealing a significant blow to the Asian side just three days before their opening match against the Netherlands.

The 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder initially suffered a season-ending foot injury during a club match against Sunderland in February, but had appeared to be on track for a return when he played in a 1-0 friendly victory over Iceland in Tokyo on 31 May. He came off at half-time, however, and continued to experience discomfort throughout Japan's pre-tournament training camp in Mexico, where he was unable to participate in any full sessions. After the squad relocated to their World Cup base in Nashville, Tennessee, Endo rejoined training but could not reach the fitness levels required. He has been replaced in the squad by Shuto Machino of German club Borussia Mönchengladbach. Ajax defender Ko Itakura will now captain the side in his place.

In a message posted on X, Endo said he had