Wataru Endō

Wataru Endo (遠藤 航, Endō Wataru; born 9 February 1993) is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and captains the Japan national team. Endo began his career at J1 League club Shonan Bellmare before moving to Urawa Red Diamonds in 2016, where he won the league title and the 2017 AFC Champions League. In 2018, he joined Sint-Truiden of the Belgian Pro League, before being loaned to Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart in 2019. He signed permanently with Stuttgart in April 2020, captaining them during his final season in Germany. Endo joined Liverpool in August 2023. Endo made his debut for the Japan national team in 2015, and has since made over 70 appearances for the national team, including in two FIFA World Cups and two AFC Asian Cups. He captained Japan for the first time in June 2023.