Liverpool's Wataru Endo announces decision over international future following World Cup heartbreak

Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo has announced his retirement from international football after he was forced to withdraw from Japan's World Cup squad.

Endo sustained a foot injury while playing in Liverpool's 1-0 Premier League win over Sunderland in February.

The Japan captain missed the remainder of the 2025-26 season, but he was still included in his country's 26-man World Cup squad.

Endo appeared to take a positive step with a 45-minute display in a friendly against Iceland at the end of May.

However, Endo has not made the desired progress in his injury recovery and has now pulled out of Japan's World Cup squad.

Liverpool midfielder retires from international football

In a post shared on social media, the midfielder confirmed his withdrawal and announced his surprising decision to retire immediately from international football.

In his statement, Endo said: "As announced, I will be stepping away from the World Cup squad. Since my injury, I've done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever.

"Of course, there's frustration at not being able to participate in this World Cup, but more than that, I'm proud of how we've grown together since the Qatar World Cup - me as captain, leading this team and turning our goal of 'winning the World Cup' into something we can say as a matter of course."

Endo explained he will now watch his country as a fan after making 73 appearances in an 11-year international career.

"With this campaign, I will be retiring from the national team," Endo added. "So from here on, I'll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans.

"The moment when the Japan national team wins the World Cup will surely come someday. Let's believe in that and cheer them on together."

What next for Endo?

Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has called up Borussia Monchengladbach's Shuto Machino as Endo's replacement ahead of Japan's first game against the Netherlands on Sunday.

For Endo, he will continue to work on his rehabilitation before linking up with his Liverpool teammates for pre-season.

That said, it remains to be seen whether he features in the plans of new Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.

The current thinking is that Endo will leave Anfield during the summer transfer window, especially as he only has one year left to run on his deal.