Julian Quinones: Mexico's Colombian-born World Cup threat

Julian Quinones' path to becoming a Mexican hero has been unorthodox — not least because he is from Colombia. The 29-year-old forward will hope to cement his legacy when Mexico faces England in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday morning at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, kicking off at 01:00 BST, live on BBC One.

England fans are well aware of Mexico's number nine Raul Jimenez, the Wolves striker who also played for Fulham. But Quinones, last season's Saudi Pro League golden boot winner, has been making waves on the left wing and could exploit England's much-debated right-back position in Mexico's high altitude.

Quinones has already scored three times at the World Cup: the tournament opener against South Africa, a goal against the Czech Republic, and in the last 32 against Ecuador. He also has one assist and two man-of-the-match awards in four games.

Colombian born, but loves Mexico

Quinones was born in Magui Payan in southern Colombia, near the Ecuadorian border, and grew up in poverty. "It's a very far away, forgotten village," he said in a recent interview. "Knowing I could overcome everything, even with all the difficulties and the lack of support, motivates me even more to keep on fighting, doing my best with every ball I get and in every match. I also do it for my family."

At age 17, he left his amateur team Futbol Paz to join Mexican side Tigres. "I was young and I hesitated when thinking about leaving my country, in order to pursue new goals and paths," he said. He would come to think of Mexico as 'my country' and now has a Mexican wife and children.

Quinones spent eight years in Mexico with Tigres, Atlas, and Club America, plus three loan moves. He scored over 70 goals in the Mexican top flight. Having represented Colombia at youth level in 2017 and 2018, he heard nothing from his homeland while excelling in Mexico. By the time Colombia called in 2023, he was eligible to play for Mexico through naturalization and joined their squad instead.

"I found a very generous country," he said. "People welcome you, help you stand out, grow personally, and I loved it, so, little by little, I started to settle, I felt welcomed. I'll always be very grateful for those moments. Mexico made me a great person. I didn't have great references from Colombia, because I was not very wise back then, but Mexico welcomed me with arms wide open, knowing one has good and bad moments in life. I learnt a lot from that."

He won six league titles in Mexico, two with each of his permanent teams — though the Mexican league has two champions each year.

Outscoring Ronaldo in Saudi league

Less than a year after becoming a Mexico international, Quinones left the country in a deal worth roughly £12 million to join Al-Qadsiah, who had just been promoted to the Saudi Pro League. He has scored 62 goals in 68 games in all competitions since that move. Last season, he won the league's golden boot with 33 goals, finishing one ahead of England's Ivan Toney and four clear of Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his team only finishing fourth.

He has carried that form into the World Cup. With three goals and an assist in four games, no Mexican player has ever been involved in more goals in one edition of the tournament since data tracking began in 1966. Luis Hernandez was also involved in four goals (all goals scored) in 1998, the joint record.

Quinones scored the first goal of the World Cup, drilling the ball through South Africa keeper Ronwen Williams' legs just nine minutes into the tournament. He also hit the woodwork later in the 2-0 win. He pounced from close range to score the second goal in Mexico's 3-0 win over the Czech Republic.