Ismael Díaz (footballer, born 1997)
Panamanian footballer
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Ismael Díaz de León (born 12 May 1997) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Liga MX club León and the Panama national team.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ismael Díaz de León | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 12 May 1997 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Panama City, Panama | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Winger | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | León | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2017 | Tauro | 27 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2017 | → Porto B (loan) | 57 | (15) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Deportivo B | 12 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | El Tanque Sisley | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Académico Viseu | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2022 | Tauro | 42 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2025 | Universidad Católica (ECU) | 86 | (38) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025– | León | 27 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Panama U17 | 8 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Panama U20 | 6 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014– | Panama | 54 | (17) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:22, 9 November 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:48, 31 March 2026 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
Born in Panama City, Díaz made his professional debut for Tauro on 2 September 2012 against Alianza, aged just 15 years and 2 months.[2] He had a trial with Dutch club PSV Eindhoven in summer 2014.[3] In August 2015, he joined Portuguese club FC Porto on a loan.[4] On 2017 the loan ended due to FC Porto order.
On 31 August 2019, Díaz joined Académico Viseu.[5] He left the club at the end of the year and returned to Tauro in January 2020.[6]
On 6 January 2022, Ecuadorian Serie A club Universidad Católica, announced the signing of Ismael Díaz, in time for the start of the 2022 Ecuadorian Serie A season, as well as the 2022 Copa Libertadores.[7] Díaz had made an immediate impact during his first two weeks at the club, scoring 2 league goals in his first 2 matches, which earned him being selected "Best Player of Matchday 1 of Serie A". Díaz then scored 2 more goals in the second stage of the Libertadores Cup group stage qualifiers, helping La Católica to a 3–1 aggregate win over Bolivian side Club Bolívar.[8]
On 25 July 2025, Díaz joined Mexican club León.
International career
He played at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates and the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.[9]
Díaz made his senior debut for Panama in an August 2014 friendly match against Cuba.
In June 2018 he was announced to be part of Panama's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and he made one appearance as a substitute against Belgium in a 3–0 loss during the group stage.[10][11]
On 8 July 2023, Díaz scored a hat-trick against Qatar during the quarter-finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in a 4–0 win.[12] On 24 June 2025, he scored another hat-trick in the Gold Cup, this time against Jamaica.
Career statistics
International
- As of match played 31 March 2026[13]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama | 2014 | 1 | 1 |
| 2015 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 15 | 4 | |
| 2024 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 11 | 8 | |
| 2026 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 54 | 17 | |
- Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.[13]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 August 2014 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Cuba | 4–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2 | 12 July 2017 | Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, United States |  Nicaragua | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 3 | 2 June 2022 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |  Costa Rica | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League A |
| 4 | 27 September 2022 | Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa, Bahrain |  Bahrain | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 5 | 10 November 2022 | Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  Saudi Arabia | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 6 | 4 July 2023 | Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States |  El Salvador | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 7 | 8 July 2023 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States |  Qatar | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 8 | 3–0 | |||||
| 9 | 4–0 | |||||
| 10 | 10 June 2025 | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama | Nicaragua | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 11 | 16 June 2025 | Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, United States |  Guadeloupe | 2–0 | 5–2 | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 12 | 3–0 | |||||
| 13 | 24 June 2025 | Q2 Stadium, Austin, United States |  Jamaica | 1–0 | 4–1 | |
| 14 | 2–0 | |||||
| 15 | 3–1 | |||||
| 16 | 28 June 2025 | State Farm Stadium, Glendale, United States |  Honduras | 1–0 | 1–1 (4–5 p) | 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup |
| 17 | 14 October 2025 | Rommel Fernández Stadium, Panama City, Panama |  Suriname | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Porto B
Panama Youth
- CONCACAF U-17 Championship runner-up: 2013
- CONCACAF U-20 Championship runner-up: 2015
Panama
- CONCACAF Gold Cup runner-up: 2023[15]
- CONCACAF Nations League runner-up: 2024–25[16]
Individual