ARLINGTON, TX — Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu said he made the final call to send Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo home from the 2026 World Cup with a foot injury.
Endo played in the first half of Samurai Blue’s send-off match against Iceland on May 31 and traveled to the United States with the squad. But, after having surgery on his foot in February, he was unable to recover well enough for Moriyasu to feel he could rely on him to play full 90-minute matches.
“As the head coach, I was the one who made the final decision,” Moriyasu said through a translator at a news conference on Saturday, June 13. “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.”
The 33-year-old announced his international retirement along with the withdrawal from this tournament. It was a decision that did not come lightly for the manager, who said he wasn’t anticipating Endo’s exact reaction and even said he was sorry for the many Japan fans who hoped to see Endo play a part in the tournament, which Japan opens in North Texas against the Netherlands on June 14.
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“It felt really bad for me to give him such a message. Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly how he felt or know what his thoughts were, but he was very understanding and respectful and we could maintain our good conversation in a cool manner,” the coach said. “Of course, he was hurt, but the family members and all the people he loves and the supporters and others are supporting him and he understood there are a great many supporters – they were hurt as well.
“I fully understand such message would hurt them deeply, and I really would like to apologize sincerely to them.”
Endo, a midfielder, was replaced on the roster by forward Shūto Machino, who Moriyasu noted has the right characteristics as a team player to fit in well, even if it isn’t a like-for-like replacement.
On the eve of Japan’s tournament debut, Moriyasu said the expectations should be high for his team after a strong run through Asian qualification.
“Japan used to be in the phase that, ‘OK, our target is to get through qualifiers and get to the World Cup,’ but now our target really is to win the World Cup,” he said.
After the opening match against the Netherlands, Japan meets Tunisia and Sweden in group play.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Japan manager says decision to send Wataru Endo home was his as coach
