Wataru Endo Is Out of the World Cup, and Japan’s Captain Is Walking Away for Good

Three days before Japan’s opening match against the Netherlands, the Samurai Blue lost their captain. Wataru Endo has withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup squad due to injury and announced his immediate retirement from international football, ending a four-month race against the clock that the 33-year-old Liverpool midfielder ultimately could not win.

The decision wasn’t his. After a medical report on his condition, coach Hajime Moriyasu made the final call to withdraw him, and the federation confirmed Endo did not leave of his own accord. In his farewell statement, Endo said he had done everything possible since the injury and has “no regrets whatsoever.”

Photo: Mehr News Agency, CC BY 4.0, cropped from original

What Is Wataru Endo’s Injury? The Lisfranc Damage Explained

The injury that ended Endo’s international career happened on February 11, in his first league start of the season against Sunderland, when he severely twisted his left ankle and had to come off. He went down trying to block a cross, his ankle forced outward and left the pitch on a stretcher with oxygen. Manager Arne Slot declared it a long-term absence on the spot.

Scans revealed damage to the Lisfranc ligament, which connects the bones across the top of the foot. Endo admitted he had never heard of it. A separation of just 1mm causes severe pain; his measured 4mm.

Then came the gamble. Doctors offered two surgical options: a plate, which meant three months of recovery plus another three after its removal, or an artificial ligament with a faster timeline. Endo chose the artificial ligament, flew home to Japan and had surgeons drill into the bone to insert it, all to keep the World Cup dream alive.

It nearly worked and he made it back to Liverpool’s matchday squad as an unused substitute on the final day of the season, then started the May 31 farewell friendly against Iceland in Tokyo. That’s where the bet collapsed. An opponent stepped on the top of his surgically repaired left foot, and Endo admitted afterward he was in pain and exhausted after only 45 minutes when he had wanted the full 90. He couldn’t join the collective training at Japan’s camp in Monterrey, and the final medical assessment sealed it.

Who Replaces Wataru Endo in Japan’s World Cup Squad?

The squad replacement is Shuto Machino. Machino is a striker at Borussia Mönchengladbach, heading to his first World Cup after 34 Bundesliga appearances this season. Moriyasu chose attacking depth over a direct swap, which tells you something about how thin Japan’s options at the base of midfield already were. Hidemasa Morita is out injured despite leading Sporting to a Champions League quarterfinal, and Takumi Minamino never recovered from a ruptured ACL.

On the pitch, expect Ao Tanaka of Leeds United and Mainz’s Kaishu Sano to absorb Endo’s defensive screening duties, with Daichi Kamada providing the creative thrust ahead of them. The armband, meanwhile, has a new home: Ko Itakura takes over the captaincy.

Can Japan Still Win the World Cup Without Endo?

Losing your captain 72 hours before kickoff is nobody’s idea of ideal preparation. But this Japan team was never built around one player. The Samurai Blue have beaten Germany, Brazil, England and Spain since 2022, and the squad’s real weapon is a group of wide attackers who can collectively shift games, led by Takefusa Kubo, with Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda (14 league goals this season) rotating around him. Moriyasu can shift between a 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 or a back three, with a 3-4-2-1 the likely base shape, and his in-game tinkering won Japan both of those famous comeback victories in Qatar.

The draw helps too. Japan should qualify from Group F, with the Netherlands opener the stiffest test and a chance to make a statement. Sweden and Tunisia are beatable, and in the expanded 48-team format, even third place can be enough to advance. The real question is whether this group can finally crack the round of 16 ceiling that has stopped Japan four times.

Endo, for his part, thinks they will. He called this squad a wonderful team and predicted they would show fans sights they’ve never seen before. He just won’t be on the pitch when they do.

Japan World Cup 2026 Schedule: Match Times in JST and Where to Watch

• Japan vs. Netherlands: Monday, June 15, 5am
• Japan vs. Tunisia: Sunday, June 21, 1pm
• Japan vs. Sweden: Friday, June 26, 8am

All 104 matches stream free on ABEMA, with NHK and Fuji TV broadcasting select games. ABEMA is also where you’ll find the documentary in which Endo told the full story of his surgery, if you want the long version of how this all unraveled.

For more on Japan at the FIFA World Cup 2026 check out our guide:
Japan World Cup 2026 Guide: Schedule, Players & Where to Watch in Tokyo