Tokyo: Wataru Endo, captain of the Japanese national team, has withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup after suffering a foot injury.
According to Thai News Agency, the 33-year-old midfielder, despite being included in the final 26-man squad, is unable to play and has subsequently announced his retirement from international football. Endo, who plays for Liverpool, underwent surgery in February and has been a key player for Japan since 2015, earning 73 caps and scoring four goals. Following his withdrawal, Shuto Machino of Borussia M¶nchengladbach has been called up as a replacement, while Ko Itakura of Ajax Amsterdam is expected to assume the captaincy for the Samurai Blue.
In other World Cup preparations, Lionel Messi, the 38-year-old captain of Argentina, trained with his teammates in Kansas City, USA, as they prepare to defend their title. The team, managed by Lionel Scaloni, aims to retain the World Cup with core players from their last victory, including Juli¡n lvarez, Enzo Fern¡ndez, Lisandro Martnez, and Nicol¡s Otamendi. Argentina is set to face Algeria in their first Group J match on June 17th at Kansas City Stadium.
Meanwhile, co-hosts Canada are gearing up for their match against Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium. Canada will be without their captain Alphonso Davies due to a hamstring injury, with Jayden Nelson replacing Marcelo Flores, who is also injured. Moise Bombito is likely to miss the match as well, but goalkeeper Maxim Crepo will start. Jonathan David is on the brink of reaching a milestone, needing just one more goal to achieve 40 national team goals.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by coach Serge Barbarez, qualified for the World Cup by eliminating Italy in the European play-offs. The team may still be without Haris Tabakovic, who is recovering from an ankle injury. Veteran captain Edin Dzeko, who was a substitute in a recent friendly against Panama, is expected to be fit and available for selection. Dzeko and Sead Kolasinac remain from the squad that first qualified for the World Cup in 2014.