Wataru Endo Withdraws From Japan's World Cup Squad After Foot Setback

Wataru Endo is out of Japan’s World Cup squad after a setback in his recovery from a foot injury. The captain had been working back from February surgery on a broken left foot, but Japan decided he could not complete that return in time.

Japan moved quickly to replace him with Shuto Machino of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Endo’s exit removes a captain and Liverpool midfielder from the squad just after he had been part of the pre-World Cup buildup.

Endo’s Recovery Slowed Again

Endo had spent most of the latter stages of the 2025-26 season sidelined. He trained on his own before being slowly reintegrated into team work toward the end of the campaign, then joined Japan for a pre-World Cup warm-up friendly against Iceland on May 31.

He played one half of football in that match, which made the setback in Nashville more damaging for Japan’s plans. After arriving at the national team camp, he spent the past week back in solo training, a sign that the recovery had not moved forward as hoped.

Machino Steps Into Japan

Japan’s replacement choice was direct: Machino came in for Endo in the squad. That leaves the team without the captain it had been building around as the World Cup approached.

Two days before the change, Endo had already spoken about Japan’s ambitions, saying, “We will do our best with pride and passion to achieve something we’ve never seen before in Japan’s soccer history.” Instead, the immediate task now shifts to reshaping the squad around a new midfielder-forward balance after a captain’s withdrawal that arrived late in the buildup.