Endo leads Japan to 2026 World Cup – first nation to qualify!

Wataru Endo has soothed the disappointment of Sunday by helping Japan become the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Bahrain.

Endo has had to find his regular game time this season at international level, starting all but one of Japan’s seven World Cup qualifying games.

He has played 521 minutes for his country in six appearances compared to 742 minutes in 26 Liverpool outings under Arne Slot – quite the contrast!

On Thursday, he led Japan out against Bahrain knowing a win would guarantee his country’s place in the 2026 World Cup, making them the first official qualifier alongside the three co-hosts.

He started and played the full 90 at the base of midfield with ex-Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino ahead of him and even had the ball in the back of the net early on only for it to be ruled out after a VAR review.

Ultimately it was Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo who was the star for Japan. Named as a Liverpool target last summer, the 23-year-old supplied the assist for Daichi Kamada’s opening goal.

He then made sure of the result later in the second half with a brilliant shot from a tight angle that flew beyond the goalkeeper and into the side netting at the back post.

?? GOAL: Takefusa Kubo

Japan 2-0 Bahrainpic.twitter.com/aqw4YS5bYd

— Goals Xtra (@GoalsXtra) March 20, 2025

Japan successfully qualified from a group including Australia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China, and now join the United States, Canada and Mexico for next year’s tournament.

This will be Endo’s third World Cup with Japan after featuring in 2018 and 2022 in Russia and Qatar respectively – and he will hope to captain his side beyond the round of 16 for the first time.

In other international news, Ryan Gravenberch has left the Netherlands camp and returned to Liverpool for assessment after an injury issue which we hope is not serious.