Ismael Díaz (footballer, born 1997)

For other uses, see Ismael Diaz.

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.

Ismael Díaz

Personal information
Full name	Ismael Díaz de León
Date of birth	(1997-05-12) 12 May 1997 (age 28)
Place of birth	Panama City, Panama
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position(s)	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	2	(1)
International career‡
2013	Panama U17	8	(3)
2015	Panama U20	6	(4)
2014–	Panama	49	(16)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Panama CONCACAF Gold Cup Runner-up 2023 United States–Canada Team CONCACAF Nations League Runner-up 2025 United States Team
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:22, 11 July 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:18, 28 June 2025 (UTC)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Díaz and the second or maternal family name is de León.

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 28 June 2025^[13]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

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	7	7
Total		49	16

Scores and results list Panama's goal tally first.^[13]

List of international goals scored by Ismael Díaz

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

Honours

Porto B

• Segunda Liga: 2015–16^[14]
• Premier League International Cup: 2016–17

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

• CONCACAF Gold Cup Golden Boot: 2025^[17]
• CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI: 2023,^[18] 2025^[19]