The day after scoring the opening goal of the 2026 World Cup, Julian Quinones’ name echoed across Mexico and resonated deeply in Colombia. His strike against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca made him the first Colombian-born player ever to score a World Cup goal for another nation.

Quinones achieved this milestone for Mexico — the country that embraced him when he was just beginning his professional journey, offering him not only a career but also a home, a family, a platform, and eventually, a national team jersey.

Although born in Magui Payan, Colombia, Quinones truly became a footballer in Mexico. His path began on the rough fields and streets of Narino, moved through Futbol Paz in Cali, and eventually led him to a country that didn’t just hand him a contract but gifted him a future.

The boy who played barefoot

Long before his first World Cup goal, before the roar of the Azteca, before donning the green jersey, Quinones was a young boy playing barefoot in Magui Payan. He would sneak out without his parents’ permission, play for hours until he forgot to eat, and continue even when his shorts tore — leaving his mother to sew them back together later.

Magui Payan was no polished academy. It was football in its rawest form — instinctive, desperate, and full of hope. The football was not just a pastime; it was Quinones’ first hint that he could transcend the limitations around him.

Cesar Valencia, one of his early coaches at Futbol Paz, told ESPN MX that those barefoot games shaped more than Quinones’ passion — they built his physical foundation. His ankle strength, striking technique, balance, and power all emerged from those early conditions.

At Futbol Paz, Quinones wasn’t remembered as just another promising youngster. He was relentless — known as 'Pantera' (Panther) among his teammates. But Valencia believed the nickname didn’t do him justice. To him, Quinones was more like a lion — fierce and fearless in front of goal.

‘Capable of achieving the impossible’

Moving to Mexico changed Quinones’ life entirely. He joined Tigres in 2016, though his path was far from straightforward. He didn’t become an instant star, but Mexico offered him what Colombia never did — time, visibility, and belief.

His uncle, Jefferson Quinones, summed it up perfectly in an interview with LA FM following Mexico’s 2-0 win over South Africa: “Julian has always shown himself to be someone capable of achieving the impossible. I think today he is living his great dream, which is playing in his first World Cup.”

Quinones isn’t the first naturalised striker to carry Mexico’s hopes. Players like Guillermo Franco and Rogelio Funes Mori have worn the green, white, and red before him — but neither managed to score for Mexico at a World Cup. Quinones, in contrast, did it within nine minutes.

Sacred ground

By coincidence, Colombia’s World Cup base is in Guadalajara — at the Atlas FC Academy. For Quinones, that city is sacred. Guadalajara is where he became a legend with Atlas after leaving Tigres in 2021. It was there that he helped end the club’s 70-year league title drought during the 2021 Apertura. A few months later, Atlas pulled off the unthinkable — a consecutive championship, earning the historic Bicampeonato. A club starved of glory for seven decades suddenly had two titles in two tournaments.

Quinones was pivotal in that transformation. During the 2022 Clausura final against Pachuca, he scored in the first leg at Estadio Jalisco, giving Atlas a 2-0 lead and pushing them closer to a second straight crown. That goal turned him from a key player into an immortal figure in club history.

His return to Guadalajara on Thursday, when Mexico face South Korea, promises to be special. Quinones is no longer just a former Atlas hero — he is now Mexico’s World Cup spark, returning to the city that forged his footballing identity.

For Atlas fans, Quinones delivered what many only heard about from their parents and grandparents — championships and nights when the impossible felt possible. Now, he seeks to deliver that same magic for Mexico.

Saudi superstar

In Liga MX, Quinones left a significant legacy. Across stints with Tigres, Lobos BUAP, Atlas, and America, he accumulated 75 goals and 20 assists in 206 league appearances. Including all competitions for Mexican top-flight clubs, his total reached 88 goals.

His goals brought silverware — triumphs with Tigres, a double championship with Atlas, and further success with America. By the time he departed for Al-Qadsiah in the summer of 2024, Quinones was no longer just an explosive attacker — he was a proven winner who had mastered the pressure of finals.

Then came Saudi Arabia, which offered a different kind of recognition. Quinones joined Al-Qadsiah in a deal reportedly worth $16 million, making him the most expensive sale in Liga MX history. His debut season yielded 25 goals across all competitions — but that was only the beginning.

In the 2025–26 season, he emerged as the Saudi Pro League’s top scorer with 33 goals in 31 matches. A final-day hat-trick against Al-Ittihad allowed him to surpass Ivan Toney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the Golden Boot race. He also netted four times in the King’s Cup for good measure.

Not since Hugo Sanchez has Mexico had a striker entering a World Cup with such prolific form. The Saudi Pro League may not be La Liga, and Quinones is not Sanchez, but his consistency in front of goal matters just as much.

Embracing the moment

Few players make Estadio Azteca feel like home, as its grandeur often overwhelms even the best. The altitude, noise, and pressure can crush players before the match even begins. Yet Quinones looked at ease from the opening whistle against South Africa. Every touch exuded purpose — direct but composed, aggressive yet intelligent. He seemed fully aware of the moment’s magnitude but refused to shrink from it. When his chance came, he delivered exactly what Mexico had been yearning for — a clinical finish.

That goal shifted the emotional atmosphere of the tournament. Mexico needed a spark, and Quinones provided it. Now, the nation’s hopes for a deep run on home soil rest heavily on his shoulders.

Making dreams a reality

Quinones’ journey is too complex to be reduced to rejection or convenience. He is Colombian by birth and even represented Colombia at youth level. His roots in Magui Payan remain integral to his story, and he has never denied them. Yet he has made his affection for Mexico clear.

“People who don’t know my story are always going to judge you,” Quinones told ESPN MX. “But that really doesn’t matter. What matters is what I feel, and I feel a lot of love for Mexico.”

His mother, Gloria, understands his path too. “It hurt me to leave him there,” she told ESPN MX, “but I knew it was for his dream... No one is a prophet in his own land. When you have dreams to fulfil, you can go wherever you need to go, and there you can make them happen.”

That dream now includes a World Cup goal, two nations watching proudly, a Colombian mother, a Mexican jersey, a Saudi Golden Boot, and a stadium that already feels like part of his destiny. The best of Julian Quinones might still be yet to come in this World Cup.