Angel City’s irrepressible Jun Endo finds ways to stand out for Japan in World Cup
LA TimesJapan’s Jun Endo celebrates with her bench after scoring for Japan against Zambia in the Women’s World Cup on Saturday. “In Japan, I kind of struggled with being myself and having fun playing soccer,” said Endo, whose irrepressibility has made her arguably the most popular player on an Angel City roster full of stars. “Oooooh,” said Angel City captain Ali Riley when reminded of the doggie day care incident, which happened the morning Endo brought her dog to training and tied it to a staircase near the locker room. When Japan beat the U.S. on penalty kicks four months later, winning the World Cup and dedicating the victory to the victims of Fukushima, it inspired Endo to follow in those women’s footsteps. But if Japan advances to the knockout rounds, as it did four years ago when a teenage Endo made two starts and assisted on what proved to be the deciding goal in a crucial win over Scotland, the team’s first two games could come against New Zealand, captained by Riley, and the U.S., whose roster includes Angel City teammates Julie Ertz and Alyssa Thompson.
History of this topic
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