MEXICO CITY (AP) 鈥� After contributing a goal and an assist in his debut, Colombia’s Luis D铆az walked to the sidelines to look for his father. They spotted each other, fulfilling a dream that was years in the making.
鈥淎 lot of things came to me from the past,鈥� D铆az said after on Wednesday night. 鈥淚 worked for this. I fought to be here at this moment.鈥�
First, Colombia failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Then his parents were kidnapped.
In late 2023, Luis Manuel 鈥淢ane鈥� D铆az and his wife, Cilenis Marulanda, were captured by armed guerillas at the Colombia-Venezuela border. Marulanda was quickly rescued, but Mane D铆az was not.
Luis D铆az, playing for Liverpool at the time, missed two games to return home to Barrancas and advocate for his father鈥檚 freedom. Upon his return to the club, he scored and revealed an undershirt printed in Spanish.
The gesture garnered international support and increased pressure on the Colombian government to act. after being held for 12 days, and father and son when they reunited.
This week, D铆az鈥檚 father posted a viral video of himself praying over his son鈥檚 jersey ahead of his first World Cup game.
D铆az, 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.
鈥淚 think there was always something that kept us from being at ease,鈥� D铆az said. 鈥淚 think that today, I am at my best.鈥�
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Jack Little is a student in the University of Georgia鈥檚 Carmical Sports Media Institute.
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