While the spotlight shone brightly on Bayern Munich winger Luis Díaz and Minnesota United midfielder James Rodriguez, it was Daniel Munoz who emerged as the hero, sealing a 1-0 victory for Colombia against D.R. Congo. This goal added to his earlier strike in Colombia's triumph over Uzbekistan.

The Crystal Palace defender initially celebrated a goal in the eighth minute, only for it to be disallowed following a VAR review, with Italian referee Maurizio Mariani ruling him offside.

Nearly 70 minutes later, Munoz broke the deadlock with a spectacular finish, thanks to a perfectly timed pass from Juan Fernando Quintero, as he navigated through the stubborn defense of goalkeeper Lionnel Mpasi.

After being honored as Player of the Match, Munoz humbly deflected the praise onto his teammates.

"Just because I scored the goal doesn't mean I'm the star. We're all the stars. We all earned these three points. This is a family, and here, the star is Colombia," he stated post-match.

"The effort of the entire team deserves recognition. Nothing is easy; nobody is getting anything for free," he added, emphasizing the collective achievement.

In Colombia's opening match last week, Munoz played a pivotal role by darting into the Uzbekistan penalty area in the 40th minute to net the first goal of a contest that concluded 3-1 in Colombia’s favor.

With previous experience on the international stage, Munoz has already made his mark; during the 2024 Copa America, where Colombia finished as runners-up, he netted two goals, establishing himself as one of the tournament's top scorers. His latest goal brings his overall tally to five in 46 appearances.

A dynamic player, Munoz thrives on the right flank, excelling not only as a goal-scorer but also as a key playmaker. During his four seasons with Genk in Belgium, he adopted a more offensive role, amassing 19 goals and 20 assists.

Since joining Crystal Palace in the English Premier League in 2023, Munoz has continued his impressive form, scoring 11 goals and delivering 16 assists.