GUADALAJARA, Mexico — For Ricardo Mazalan, the Associated Press’ deputy director of storytelling and photography for Latin America, FIFA World Cup coverage is nothing new. The seasoned photojournalist has documented every iteration of the world’s biggest soccer tournament since the 1998 competition hosted by France, and he has also brought his lens to multiple Olympic Games across his decades-long career.
In a behind-the-scenes reflection, Mazalan opened up about the creative process and narrative power of one standout photograph he captured during a recent World Cup group stage encounter between two historic champions, Spain and Uruguay.
This matchup carried unique stakes: it was the only opening-round game that pitted two prior World Cup winners against one another, making it one of the most highly anticipated fixtures of the tournament’s early slate. With Uruguay’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage hanging in the balance, Mazalan went into the match expecting a tightly contested, physically grueling battle. He set out not just to capture generic on-pitch action, but to create images that distilled the raw emotion and unforgiving physicality that defined the high-stakes contest. The moment he landed on — a hard challenge for the ball between Uruguay’s Agustin Canobbio and Spain’s Marc Cucurella — perfectly encapsulated just how intense the 90 minutes would become.
Mazalan emphasizes that the final, powerful image was not a product of his work alone. One of the greatest advantages of covering global elite sporting events for a major news agency is the opportunity to collaborate with seasoned, respected editors who shape work into its strongest form. For photographers, there is always a quiet thrill mixed with anticipation when a veteran photo editor or top agency photographer reviews your shots. That excitement becomes even more rewarding when an editor immediately sees the same narrative in a frame that the photographer spotted through the viewfinder. For Mazalan, the partnership between photographer and editor has always mirrored a tango: one partner feels the moment in real time, the other identifies and interprets that energy, and together they craft a story neither could create independently.
So what makes this particular image resonate more than countless other match snapshots? It succeeds because it captures far more than a routine tackle — it captures the entire soul of the match. Early in the first half, as Canobbio and Cucurella collided and fell to the turf, Mazalan knew the moment summed up the entire contest that was unfolding. What was supposed to be a showcase of fluid attacking soccer devolved into a gritty, physical battle, and by the final whistle, the outcome matched that scrappy energy: Uruguay had been eliminated from the tournament, and Canobbio had been shown a red card and ejected from the match. Mazalan notes that iconic sports photography rarely hinges on capturing the winning goal or a game-saving stop. More often than not, one quiet, visceral moment can reveal the full unwritten story of a match long before the final whistle blows.