Who is Julian Quinones? Mexico’s World Cup revelation eyeing up England

Few names have emerged from this World Cup quite as quickly as that of Julian Quinones. The Mexico forward has scored three goals already at the tournament, including the very first strike of the competition, and now finds himself firmly on the radar of England supporters ahead of a potential meeting further down the line.

According to FourFourTwo, Quinones had largely escaped wider attention outside of Mexican and Saudi football circles until this summer, despite already having built a rich footballing story. Anyone who had followed his career closely before this World Cup, the outlet suggests, deserves credit for spotting him early.

From Colombia to Mexican football

Quinones was born and raised in Colombia before a productive spell in the youth ranks at Paz caught the eye of Tigres, one of Mexican football’s biggest clubs. He has since become a naturalised Mexican citizen, which paved the way for him to represent Mexico at international level.

Breaking into the Tigres first team, however, proved difficult in his early years. He instead impressed on loan at fellow top-flight side BUAP as a 20-year-old, netting 17 goals in 28 league appearances, a return that hinted at the goalscoring instincts he has now brought to the World Cup stage.

A star turn on the biggest stage

Quinones has taken that goalscoring form to an entirely different level at World Cup 2026, opening the tournament’s scoring account and adding further goals since to firmly establish himself as one of the breakout figures of the competition so far.

His impact has been part of a wider run of eye-catching displays from Mexico as hosts, with the team also drawing attention for other emerging talents in the squad. That form has fuelled growing interest in how far Mexico can progress in the competition, and whether their path could eventually cross with England’s.

With English fans already gearing up for the possibility of facing Mexico at some stage of the tournament, Quinones’s rapid rise means he is now a name well and truly on the radar, rather than the relative unknown he was just a few weeks ago.

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