Japan captain Endo ruled out of World Cup, retires from internationals

[p]The Liverpool midfielder pulled out of the tournament after failing to recover from a foot injury, and was replaced in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/japan/ULXPdOUj/"]Japan[/a]'s squad by Borussia Monchengladbach's [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/machino-shuto/lMBnrtYr/"]Shuto Machino[/a].[/p][p]The 33-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/endo-wataru/r7gln7MG/"]Endo[/a] said on social media that he was "frustrated" at not being able to play but backed his team to impress in Group F, where they face the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/netherlands/WYintcWb/"]Dutch[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/tunisia/QqZVYk95/"]Tunisia[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/sweden/OQyqbHWB/"]Sweden[/a].[/p][p]"[b]There will definitely come a time in the future when Japan win the World Cup, so let's believe in that and support the team,[/b]" he wrote on X.[/p][p]"Let's bring the strength of Japan together so that that moment can happen at this tournament in North America."[/p][p]"[b]I have decided to retire from the national team. From now on, I will be supporting Japan as just another fan.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="f450f015-3954-47bf-a724-eca9e5891bb6" url="https://x.com/LFC/status/2065153342414709056" social-type="twitter" /][p]Endo suffered a season-ending foot injury [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/liverpool-lId4TMwf/sunderland-WSzc94ws/?mid=W2uAbPD7"]playing for Liverpool against Sunderland in February[/a] but returned for Japan in a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/iceland-6TsAIrGN/japan-ULXPdOUj/?mid=r5MReUf2"]1-0 friendly win over Iceland in Tokyo on May 31[/a].[/p][p]He came off at half-time and continued to feel discomfort at the team's pre-World Cup camp in Mexico, where he was not involved in any full training sessions.[/p][p]He took part in training when Japan moved to their World Cup base in Nashville on Monday but was not able to get up to speed in time for the tournament.[/p][embed guid="ddb48760-dc86-4624-b248-24d1b91f6094" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hbMOMcLkN4" social-type="youtube" /][p]"[b]I've done everything in my power since I sustained the injury so I have no regrets,[/b]" said Endo.[/p][p]"Of course I'm frustrated that I can't play at this World Cup.[/p][p]"[b]But more than that, I'm proud that I've been able to captain this team since the Qatar World Cup and help it grow into a group where it feels natural to say our target is to win the World Cup.[/b]"[/p][p]Endo made his Japan debut in 2015 and retires with 73 caps, having scored four goals for his country.[/p][p]He was a member of Japan's squads for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, and played in their stunning wins over Germany and Spain in Qatar.[/p]