Diaz featured for 88 minutes of Los Cafeteros 1-0 win, which was played in the Liverpool star’s home town of Barranquilla.
Although he didn’t have a hand in the only goal of the game, El Espectador report that fans at Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez were in no doubt who the Man of the Match was.
Diaz was reportedly cheered by ‘the entire stadium’ as he made sure Colombia began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a win.
Described by the paper as the ‘great figure’ of the match, it was a good night for the 26-year-old.
Having missed on last year’s World Cup in Qatar, Diaz and Colombia will be desperate to qualify for the next edition.
By that time, the Liverpool forward will be 29 and still well in his peak. There are other, talented players around him, but you’d expect that Diaz may well still be his team’s figurehead by the time the tournament rolls around.
Hopefully he’ll go into that on the back of a successful three years at Liverpool. It’s been a little stop start for him since his £50m move in 2022. But with the injuries hopefully now behind him, Diaz has started this season very bright.
Two goals in the first two Premier League games have given way to back-to-back goalless displays. However, having been taken off early into the game against Newcastle, he didn’t have much chance to get on the scoresheet there.
In reality, Diaz is still feeling his way back after such a disruptive injury last season. In that sense, the more football he gets in his legs, the better.
The former Porto man may not have scored yesterday, but it’s great to hear he was getting the fans excited.
At his essence, Diaz is a player who lives purely to get the supporters off their seats. Whether that’s at Liverpool or back home in Colombia, it’s brilliant to see.
