Luis Diaz, the Liverpool winger, experienced a heartbreaking defeat in the final of Copa America as Colombia lost 1-0 to Argentina. The local media’s assessment of his performance was divided, leaving fans wondering about his impact on the match.
Although Argentina clinched the Copa America trophy with a goal from Lautaro Martinez in the second half of extra time, it was Alexis Mac Allister who emerged as the ultimate victor. As a key midfielder for his country throughout the tournament, Mac Allister played a pivotal role in their success.
On the other hand, Diaz held a crucial position for Colombia as their talisman on the left flank. Unfortunately, he was unable to inspire victory in Miami on Sunday. Despite playing 105 minutes in the final before being replaced by Miguel Borja midway through extra time, Diaz only managed to touch the ball 42 times.
To put this into perspective, according to FotMob, the players who started the game and made fewer touches than Diaz were Argentina’s Gonzalo Montiel (35) and Julian Alvarez (22), as well as Colombia’s Jhon Cordoba (20), all of whom played fewer minutes.
Diaz struggled to make an impact, winning only two of his 19 duels (11%) and successfully completing just one out of his five attempted dribbles. He did manage to create one chance and had one shot on goal. However, Colombian newspaper El Heraldo gave him a low rating of 4 out of 10, describing it as “his worst game of the tournament.” Journalist Isaac Barrios Martinez noted that Diaz was well-marked whenever he tried to contribute to the attack and had no clear chances to score.
ESPN Colombia, while not providing a rating for Diaz, acknowledged his efforts, stating that he was “fighting on the left,” but failed to create clear goal-scoring opportunities and made poor decisions in one promising attack during extra time.
Despite the mixed reviews, GOAL’s Thomas Hindle gave Diaz a slightly better rating of 6 out of 10. Hindle praised Diaz for his electrifying performance in open-field situations and noted that he was frequently fouled by Argentina defenders.
Overall, Colombia’s performance in the tournament received high praise from El Colombiano, which compared the current team to the one that last won Copa America in 2001. Diaz was specifically compared to Victor Aristizabal, the top scorer of that tournament. Journalist John Eric Gomez highlighted Diaz’s lethal forward capabilities, emphasizing his ability to score goals at crucial moments.
El Espectador also appreciated Colombia’s efforts, with Luis Guillermo Ordonez stating that they had left everything on the field and had cemented their place among the elite of world football. However, Ordonez admitted that Diaz played with more desire than clarity in the final.
Looking ahead, Liverpool will grant Diaz a break of at least three weeks, with his expected return not until the leadup to their final friendly of pre-season against Sevilla on August 11. This break will give him time to recover from the intensity of the tournament and prepare for the upcoming season with his club.