Raúl Jiménez scored Mexico’s opening goal against South Africa in the 2026 World Cup opener, and the moment carried the weight of a return that once seemed impossible. At 35, in his fourth World Cup, Jiménez finished the chance that gave Mexico the first jolt of the tournament and turned a scar into the day’s defining image.
That is why his name was being searched so intensely today. Jiménez had 127 caps and 46 goals before the match, but his latest goal mattered for more than the number beside it. Nearly six years after a life-threatening skull fracture, he stood in the box and did what elite forwards are paid to do, even though the bigger story was that he was there at all. “It is a miracle to be here with you,” he said when reflecting on the moment that almost ended his life.
The injury that nearly took him out of football came in 2020, when he was playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Jiménez did not remember going back for the corner that led to the head clash with David Luiz, and the collision happened as both players jumped for the ball. He was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, where surgeons relieved pressure on his brain. Jiménez later said, “The skull fracture… the bone broke, and there was a little bit of bleeding inside the brain,” adding, “It was pushing my brain to the inside, and that is why the surgery had to be quick.”
What followed was the sort of recovery that is usually told in private, not on a World Cup stage. A message from Jiménez in the team WhatsApp chat 24 hours after his surgery said he was OK and being looked after. Two weeks later he visited the rest of the squad at the training ground, pale, unsteady and wearing a big hat to cover the scar that he has said he will carry for the rest of his life. A few weeks after that, he was doing keepy-uppies. Nuno Espirito Santo later said in Code Red, “There are things that you are able to put away from your memories but this moment will stay forever,” while Conor Coady recalled, “His eyes were shut and he had a little bit of blood running from his nose,” and added, “I could see he was done. He was out.”
The sharpest part of the story is also the simplest: Jiménez should not have been playing in the opening match in any ordinary sense, yet he scored Mexico’s biggest goal of the tournament opener. That is not a neat redemption arc; it is a reminder of how thin the line was between a career continued and a life saved. Mexico now carries his goal into the rest of the 2026 World Cup, but the larger fact is already fixed. Jiménez came back from a skull fracture that required surgery to save his life, and he returned to score when the pressure was highest.
