Liverpool Japanese Midfielder Wataru Endō last Thursday announced stepping away from FIFA World Cup without regret, due to the surgery he had on his left foot in February.

The team however shows sportsmanship for their captain, holding up his jersey number after playing a 2-2 draw against Netherlands after late goal, stunning their counterpart.

Part of Endō post on X read: “Since my injury, I’ve done everything I possibly could up to this point, so I have no regrets whatsoever.

“Of course, there’s frustration at not being able to participate in this World Cup, but more than that, I’m proud of how we’ve grown together since the Qatar World Cup—me as captain, leading this team and turning our goal of “winning the World Cup” into something we can say as a matter of course.

The current team is truly a wonderful team. I believe they will overcome any adversity and show us sights we’ve never seen before.

With this campaign, I will be retiring from the national team. So from here on, I’ll be cheering for the Japan national team as one of the fans. The moment when the Japan national team wins the World Cup will surely come someday.”