Colombia’s Luis Diaz (7) celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal throughout the World Cup Group K soccer match between Uzbekistan and Colombia in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
MEXICO CITY—After contributing a goal and an assist in his World Cup debut, Colombia’s Luis Díaz walked to the sidelines to search for his father. They spotted one another, fulfilling a dream that was years within the making.
“A number of things got here to me from the past,” Díaz said after Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1 on Wednesday night. “I worked for this. I fought to be here at this moment.”
First, Colombia did not qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Then his parents were kidnapped.
In late 2023, Luis Manuel “Mane” Díaz and his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, were captured by armed guerillas on the Colombia-Venezuela border. Marulanda was quickly rescued, but Mane Díaz was not.
Luis Díaz, playing for Liverpool on the time, missed two games to return home to Barrancas and advocate for his father’s freedom. Upon his return to the club, he scored and revealed an undershirt with the words “Freedom for Papa” printed in Spanish.
The gesture garnered international support and increased pressure on the Colombian government to act. Mane was released after being held for 12 days, and father and son had an emotional embrace after they reunited.
This week, Díaz’s father posted a viral video of himself praying over his son’s jersey ahead of his first World Cup game.
Díaz, who now plays for Bayern Munich, scored the go-ahead goal shortly after Uzbekistan equalized, lifting Colombia to its first World Cup victory since 2018—while his father watched from the stands.
“I feel there was at all times something that kept us from being comfy,” Díaz said. “I feel that today, I’m at my best.”
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