World Cup qualifiers: Wataru Endo warns Japan of dangers in Asian zone, starting with China
Japan captain says he is wary of China’s wily 70-year-old coach, who has twice masterminded wins over the Japanese in his previous jobs
Captain Wataru Endo has urged Japan to use the frustration of their failed Asian Cup campaign to fire them to the 2026 World Cup, starting against China on Thursday.
Japan are the continent’s highest-ranked side but the favourites flopped at the Asian Cup in Qatar at the start of the year, losing to Iran in the quarter-finals.
They also made hard work of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, opening the third round with a shock home defeat to Oman and losing early on away to Saudi Arabia.
Japan kick off the third qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup against China in Saitama and Liverpool midfielder Endo believes they have the quality to make a strong start.
“We remember losing the opening game of the World Cup qualifiers last time and we also have the frustration from the Asian Cup,” said Endo, who was linked with a move away from Anfield during the summer.
“We know it’s not easy, but we don’t want to concentrate too much on negative things. We want to be positive.
