When 35-year-old Raul Jimenez steps onto the pitch against England in Mexico City this Sunday, he might pause briefly to absorb the moment and reflect on how far he has come.

Five and a half years after enduring a devastating head injury while representing Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League clash against Arsenal, Jimenez will now walk out at the iconic Estadio Azteca, aiming to score his third goal of the 2026 World Cup against the very nation where he has played his club football since 2018.

There will be a sense of déjà vu for him. The World Cup clash between Mexico and England at the temporarily renamed Mexico City Stadium is a monumental event, yet Jimenez and Javier Aguirre’s Mexican side have already triumphed there three times since the tournament began.

If the veteran striker, who rejoined relegated Wolves after three seasons with Fulham, glances across to the opposite goal, he will find a familiar face waiting for him.

England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford has been on the receiving end of more of Jimenez’s 68 Premier League goals than any other shot-stopper. In 12 appearances against Everton while playing for both of his English clubs, the former Benfica striker has netted six times.

Pickford was the man in goal for each of those six strikes, and no other goalkeeper in England’s top flight has been beaten by Jimenez as often.

Alongside Mexico’s formidable unbeaten World Cup record at the Americas’ most famous footballing cathedral and the challenge of the Azteca’s 2,200-metre altitude, Jimenez’s proven success against Pickford might just give Mexico another psychological edge.

It’s far from an ideal subplot with a World Cup quarter-final place at stake, but those expecting Pickford to be haunted by his track record against Jimenez may be surprised.

Jimenez’s ability to irritate and unsettle Pickford was particularly noticeable during his time in Wolves’ gold and black, though it faded somewhat during his more recent spell with Fulham.

Only one of his goals against the England goalkeeper came in Fulham colours, during a 3-1 home defeat late in the 2024–25 season. Either side of that, Mexico’s main striker has drawn a blank in five successive matches against Pickford.

The first five of Jimenez’s goals against Pickford arrived in their first five meetings — one in each of the initial four fixtures between Wolves and Everton where both featured before Jimenez’s injury, and another in their first encounter after his comeback.

Of the six goals he has scored past Pickford, three came from headers and one from the penalty spot. There’s nothing about Jimenez that will catch Pickford, Thomas Tuchel, or England by surprise at this stage.

Backed by a passionate home crowd in a stadium he knows intimately, Jimenez will once again pose a major threat as Mexico’s top forward in the tournament. Julian Quinones has already netted three times, but every member of the England setup is fully aware of the danger that Jimenez represents.

Now in his mid-thirties and possibly playing in his final World Cup after choosing to return to Molineux and drop into the second tier, Jimenez remains a well-understood yet dangerous opponent.

He will press tirelessly, move with the intelligence of any top Premier League striker, throw his body into challenges, and use every move from the classic striker’s playbook to chase goal number seven against Pickford.

Knowing what he can do is one thing, but preventing him from doing it is another — and that’s where Tuchel and England need to make their stand.