{"id":4171,"date":"2026-06-18T06:36:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:36:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4171"},"modified":"2026-06-18T06:36:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:36:30","slug":"colombias-luis-diaz-stars-in-world-cup-debut-less-than-3-years-after-his-parents-kidnapping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4171","title":{"rendered":"Colombia’s Luis Diaz stars in World Cup debut, less than 3 years after his parents’ kidnapping"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Colombia\u2019s Luis Diaz (7) celebrates after scoring their second goal during the World Cup Group K soccer match between Uzbekistan and Colombia in Mexico City, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ashtin Barker)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

MEXICO CITY \u2014 After contributing a goal and an assist in his World Cup<\/a> debut, Colombia\u2019s Luis D\u00edaz walked to the sidelines to look for his father. They spotted each other, fulfilling a dream that was years in the making.<\/p>

Read more Bichette has 3 hits, McLean strikes out 9 as Mets beat Reds to avoid series sweep<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of things came to me from the past,\u201d D\u00edaz said after Colombia beat Uzbekistan 3-1<\/a> on Wednesday night. \u201cI worked for this. I fought to be here at this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

First, Colombia failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Then his parents were kidnapped.<\/p>\n

In late 2023, Luis Manuel \u201cMane\u201d D\u00edaz and his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, were captured by armed guerillas at the Colombia-Venezuela border. Marulanda was quickly rescued, but Mane D\u00edaz was not.<\/p>\n

Luis D\u00edaz, playing for Liverpool at the time, missed two games to return home to Barrancas and advocate for his father\u2019s freedom. Upon his return to the club, he scored and revealed an undershirt with the words \u201cFreedom for Papa\u201d<\/a> printed in Spanish.<\/p>\n

The gesture garnered international support and increased pressure on the Colombian government to act. Mane was released<\/a> after being held for 12 days, and father and son had an emotional embrace<\/a> when they reunited.<\/p>

Read more Ryan O\u2019Hearn knocks in career-high 6 runs as Pirates roll to 12-4 victory over Athletics<\/a><\/p>\n

This week, D\u00edaz\u2019s father posted a viral video of himself praying over his son\u2019s jersey ahead of his first World Cup game.<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz, who now plays for Bayern Munich, scored the go-ahead goal shortly after Uzbekistan equalized to lift Colombia to its first World Cup victory since 2018 while his father watched from the stands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there was always something that kept us from being at ease,\u201d D\u00edaz said. \u201cI think that today, I am at my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Jack Little is a student in the University of Georgia\u2019s Carmical Sports Media Institute.<\/p>

Read more Kyle Bradish strikes out career-best 12 as Orioles sink Mariners 5-3<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After contributing a goal and an assist in his World Cup debut, Colombia\u2019s Luis Diaz walked to the sidelines to look for his father<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nColombia's Luis Diaz stars in World Cup debut, less than 3 years after his parents' kidnapping - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=4171\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Colombia's Luis Diaz stars in World Cup debut, less than 3 years after his parents' kidnapping - 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