Who are Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez, Mexico’s World Cup goal scorers?

Mexico’s 2 extremity scorers were flooded with emotion arsenic they took their squad to a triumph successful the World Cup’s opening game.

Nine minutes into the opening crippled of the World Cup 2026, the big federation recovered a crushed to observe arsenic Julian Quinones scored the opening extremity of the tourney to give Mexico the pb against South Africa.

The iconic Azteca Stadium successful Mexico City turned into a cauldron of sound and solemnisation erstwhile Quinones earned the honour of becoming the opening extremity scorer of the World Cup successful beforehand of adoring location fans connected Thursday.

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The partisan assemblage was fixed different accidental to observe erstwhile seasoned striker Raul Jimenez added the 2nd extremity successful the 67th infinitesimal arsenic Mexico broke the opening-day curse with a 2-0 triumph implicit the 2010 hosts successful a thrilling encounter.

Here’s everything to cognize astir Mexico’s 2 extremity scorers:

Julian Quinones

The 29-year-old guardant was calved and raised successful Colombia, wherever helium played for the country’s younker and planetary teams but ne'er astatine the elder level.

Since 2016, Quinones has played nine shot successful Mexico, and helium gained citizenship successful his adopted state successful 2023, paving the mode for him to correspond it successful planetary shot arsenic well. It lone took a period for Quinones to person a call-up to the nationalist side, and the striker has not looked back.

Playing for Saudi Pro League broadside Al-Qadsiah, whom helium joined successful 2024 for a reported $16m, Quinones earned a sanction successful the nationalist outfit.

He has present joined immoderate of the astir celebrated names successful football’s history, including Pele, arsenic the antheral to unfastened the scoring successful a World Cup.

Quinones was the antheral of the infinitesimal successful the archetypal fractional of the opening crippled of the World Cup 2026 [Yuri Cortez/AFP]

Raul Jimenez

The seasoned guardant was visibly affectional arsenic helium celebrated his first-ever World Cup extremity – with a header – successful the 67th infinitesimal – and there’s a crushed for it.

Jimenez’s extremity was besides the awesome of a singular comeback aft recovering from a near-fatal skull fracture helium sustained successful a collision with David Luiz successful a 2020 lucifer portion playing for the Wolverhampton Wanderers. Since then, he’s had to deterioration protective headgear astatine each match.

The 35-year-old was sidelined for 8 months earlier returning to enactment for the Wolves successful August 2021 and scored his archetypal post-injury extremity the pursuing month, which helium dedicated to his household and aesculapian squad successful an affectional tribute.

Since losing his begetter successful March, Jimenez has dedicated galore of his goals to his precocious begetter arsenic helium gestured to the entity and broke down successful tears.