Daniel Muñoz is being cast as one of Colombia’s most useful surprises against Uzbekistán, a right-sided player whose runs could matter as much as any headline name. At 30, the Crystal Palace fullback arrives with the kind of pace and intensity that can change a match from the outside lane, and Colombia may need exactly that at the Estadio Azteca.
That is why his name keeps coming up now. Muñoz does not play like a simple right back who waits for the game to come to him. Oliver Glasner has used him at Crystal Palace as a carrilero, with more freedom to climb forward and work alongside Ismaila Sarr and Jean-Philippe Mateta, a role that lets him behave like a right winger when the space opens while still carrying the defensive load behind him. In other words, he is asked to stretch the field, not just guard it.
For Colombia, that matters because the match is expected to bring a low block from Uzbekistán, and the team is looking for new attacking variants. Muñoz, Jhon Arias and Richard Ríos are being pointed to as the right-side combination that could help break the line. The logic is simple: if one player pins the wide defender, another can receive inside, and a third can arrive to keep the move alive. That is how a narrow defense gets pulled apart without forcing the game through the middle every time.
There is a catch in that promise. Muñoz is described as a low-profile player, the kind who rarely dominates the conversation, yet he is also being framed as one of the pieces Colombia could rely on most. That contradiction is what makes him interesting. He has already done the climbing at Atlético Nacional and Genk before reaching Crystal Palace, and the growth under Glasner has turned him into a player who can influence a match without needing the spotlight.
If Colombia gets the version of Muñoz that Palace sees on the right, it may not need a long list of answers against Uzbekistán. It may need one runner who keeps going, one outlet who understands when to attack and when to recover, and one wing of the field that can hold up under pressure. That is the kind of detail that can turn a quiet player into one of the Mundial’s biggest surprises.
