The World Cup is over for Luis Diaz. The FC Bayern attacking star put in a determined performance in the Round of 16 against Switzerland and confidently converted his penalty in the shootout—but in the end, it was the Swiss who celebrated advancing to the quarterfinals.
Luis Diaz must put his dream of a World Cup title to rest. Colombia lost to Switzerland 4–5 in a penalty shootout in the Round of 16 after 120 scoreless minutes, thus being eliminated from the tournament.
The new Bayern signing was once again one of his team’s most prominent attacking players. In a match that was intense for long stretches but lacked scoring chances, Diaz repeatedly tried to create danger with his speed and dribbling.
Diaz takes responsibility from the penalty spot
The 28-year-old’s best chance came an hour into the game. Following a quick attack, Diaz took a shot from a promising position but was denied by a quick-reacting Swiss goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel.
Colombia remained closer to victory even in extra time. Jhon Lucumi’s header hit the crossbar, and shortly afterward, Kobel made a brilliant save against Jhojan Campaz to prevent a potential go-ahead goal. On the other hand, Switzerland also failed to capitalize on good chances, so the match had to be decided in a penalty shootout.
There, Diaz showed nerves of steel. The Bayern star confidently converted his penalty kick, keeping Colombia in the game for the time being. However, because Davinson Sanchez hit only the underside of the crossbar and Kobel then made a save against Cucho Hernandez, Switzerland ultimately prevailed. Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalty kick to make it 5–4.
For Diaz, the World Cup thus ends earlier than he had hoped. Nevertheless, the attacking player made a strong impression in his first major tournament as a Bayern pro and was one of Colombia’s most important offensive threats.
