The first goal of World Cup 2026 has a first and last name: Julian Quiñones. On the 16th of the mexican team He took advantage of a high recovery by Fidalgo against Sithole to make it 1-0 in the eighth minute with a Powerful low shot that slipped under the legs of the South African goal.
He Javier Aguirre’s team had warned minutes before with a chance for Raúl Jiménez which, there, Williams stopped going down. The goal of Quinones caused the explosion of joy at the Azteca Stadiumdecked out for the date, with cute little sky playing in the background. Said so much has become the third fastest in Mexico in the history of the world cups.
Few nationalized They have given back to Tri what he is giving back tonight. He was 26 years old when he received, in an office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the naturalization letter that made him Mexican; He is 29 now, on the night when a country of one hundred and thirty million inhabitants owes him the first cry of a World Cup.
He was born in March 1997 in that municipality of Nariño nestled between mangroves and rivers, he left there to find a life with a ball and a physique that even then showed promise. The The first Mexican stopover was the Tigres de Nuevo Leónbut promotion to the first team was blocked. He was loaned to the Venados de Mérida, in the second category, and there he scored six goals in twenty games. The next step, Wolves BUAPwas his jump: 16 goals and one assist in twenty-eight gamesnumbers that open doors.
Colombian nationalized by Mexico
Atlas and America They did the rest of the goldsmithing work. And while he broke networks in the Liga MX, two teams They disputed his passport sports. Nestor Lorenzo He wanted it for Colombia in June 2023; Jaime Lozano I wanted it for Mexico. Quiñones, who had already put down roots, family and customs north of the Rio Grande, He rejected the coffee call and waited. On October 11 of that year the papers were delivered to him. Nine days later, FIFA authorized the change of federation. On November 9, the Mexican Federation published the welcome video. His debut with El Tri came that same FIFA date, against Honduras, in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Nations League.
He jump to Al-Qadsiah arrived in the middle of summer 2024. More than 16 million dollars for his services —the most expensive sale in the history of Liga MX to a non-European destination— and a contract that has already been extended until 2029. In Arabia he signs elite center forward figures: 62 goals and 12 assists in 68 gamesalmost one goal participation per match played. Critics, who for months questioned whether his explosion in the Pro League served as a yardstick to measure his real level, found an answer tonight in the Aztec.
