In just eight minutes into the game, the Mexican team took the lead on the scoreboard, which marked the beginning of the road towards their 2-0 victory against South Africa in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup.
The scorer of the goal? A man originally from Colombia, but nationalized Mexican, named Julián Quiñones, who also registered his name in history by scoring the first goal of this football competition.
In addition to being one of the figures of the game, contributing on numerous occasions and supporting his teammates, Quiñones also stands out for his peculiar story and how, little by little, He forged his way to a world cup.
According to media such as the BBC, Quiñones is originally from Magüí Payán, in Nariño, a small city in Colombia. Its history stands out, above all, for its beginnings, since child played soccer barefoot and on improvised fields.
This is supported by Quiñones himself in an interview given to ESPN in 2018, in which he added that he played soccer at despite not having permission from his parents when he was a child.
“I didn’t come home to eat sometimes; They were going to look for me and I didn’t want to leave the field.“said the player.
His professional beginnings began in an amateur club in the city of Cali called Fútbol Paz. There is an anecdote that Both the player and the club leaders will always remember.
This is the time that Quiñones scored 17 goals in a single game. “A super special anecdote is that in a single game he scored 17 goals. I don’t know how many players in the world have scored 17 goals in a game,” said one of Fútbol Paz’s directors, according to Infobae.
Finally, Quiñones’ career began to take off. After signing for the lower categories of Club Tigres in 2015 and passing through teams such as Venados, Lobos BUAP, Atlas de Guadalajara and Club América finally represented Mexico in this world cup.
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