In a major blow to Japan, captain Wataru Endo has been ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the country’s football federation said on Thursday.
“For Samurai Blue (Japan National Team) participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Wataru Endo (Liverpool FC) has withdrawn from the team due to injury, and Shuto Machino (Borussia Mönchengladbach) has been called up as his replacement,” the statement said.
Endo plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League, having made eight appearances and registered one assist in the recently concluded 2025/26 season.
However, his replacement, Machino, is a forward who plays in the Bundesliga and has scored four goals in 32 games. Incidentally, Machino was also an injury replacement at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when he replaced defender Yuta Nakayama in the Japan squad.
Japan opens its campaign against the Netherlands on June 14, before playing the remainder of its group stage matches against Tunisia and Sweden.
Published on June 11, 2026
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