Japan are one of the Asian teams aiming in this 2026 World Cup to be more than just a participant. Unfortunately for the Blue Samurai, Wataru Endo will not take part in the competition due to not having fully recovered from a foot injury.
“As the head coach, I was the one who made the final decision,” manager Hajime Moriyasu said to the press. “I’d been receiving reports from the medical staff. During the game with Iceland, he was not able to perform on the pitch for a long time.
“We had him try as best as he could and also had the medical staff looking after him. We discussed that throughout the World Cup, it may be difficult for him to perform for the entire period of the games, therefore I made the final decision looking at his condition.”
After trying every possible way to be with the Samurai Blue at the World Cup, including traveling with his teammates to the United States, his inability to be fully fit ultimately rules him out of the major tournament.
eam Captain Wataru Endo #6 steps off the plane in the United States.
What happened to Endo?
Japan captain and Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo suffered a severe Lisfranc injury to his left foot on February 11 while playing against Sunderland, which ultimately required surgery and sidelined him for the remainder of the club season.
Though he fought a grueling race against time to recover and was initially named to the 2026 World Cup squad, he aggravated the foot injury during a warm-up friendly against Iceland.
