‘Going to’ - Luis Diaz sent clear message by Colombia boss after Liverpool forward misses penalty

Luis Diaz has been backed to hit the goal trail for Colombia after missing a penalty in their draw against Ecuador.

Diaz has bagged 14 times in 57 games since he joined Liverpool from Porto for £37.5 million in January 2022. The winger has found the net three times so far this season, as well as having what should have been a legitimate goal chalked off in the Reds’ 2-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

Diaz hasn’t been as prolific in the final third for Colombia, though. He’s been on the scoresheet a total of nine times in 43 games but has not been on target in his past four outings. The 27-year-old has a gilt-edged chance to fire the Coffee Growers to glory in their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Ecuador in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In the 58th minute, Colombia were awarded a penalty after Diaz had helped engineer the move. But he saw his effort saved by goalkeeper Moises Ramirez, resulting in Colombia dropping more points in their pursuit of reaching their first World Cup since 2018.

Ex-Real Madrid playmaker James Rodriguez was also unable to break the deadlock throughout the 90 minutes. However, despite Colombia’s shortcomings in the final third, manager Nestor Lorenzo is confident that goals will come for the pair.

Via Gol Carcol, Lorenzo said: “They are top-level players and they are all used to putting themselves in front of goal. 'Lucho' he defined in a great way, but he was two centimetres ahead. The goals are going to arrive, the good thing is that situations are generated.

“In this double date, we lost four points [having also drawn against Uruguay] the satisfaction I feel is because the group responded and played a good game. I am not satisfied with the result but with how it was played."

Diaz will now return to Liverpool ahead of Saturday’s Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield (12.30 BST).