Wataru Endō

Wataru Endō is a Japanese defensive midfielder who captains the national team and won the Premier League with Liverpool in 2024–25. A tenacious ball-winner, he topped the Bundesliga for most duels during his time at VfB Stuttgart before joining Liverpool in 2023.

Endō made 158 league appearances for Shonan Bellmare (winning the J2 League in 2014) before moving to Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the AFC Champions League in 2017 and the J.League Cup in 2016. He joined Sint-Truiden in 2018 before a loan at VfB Stuttgart led to a permanent transfer in 2020; across four seasons in Stuttgart he made 99 Bundesliga appearances and 12 goals, leading the league's duels statistics.

Liverpool signed Endō in August 2023, and he contributed to the club's EFL Cup win in 2024 and Premier League title in 2024–25. He was appointed Japan captain in June 2023 and has earned 73 caps and 4 goals, representing Japan at two World Cups (2018, 2022) and two Asian Cups (2019, 2023), where he earned the 2023 AFC Asian Cup Team of the Tournament.