Raul Jimenez’s World Cup goal crowns an extraordinary survival story | OneFootball

Raul Jimenez, 35, marked a landmark by scoring for Mexico in their World Cup opener against South Africa at Estadio Azteca. It was his first World Cup start and his first World Cup goal.

According to NY Times, Jimenez suffered a life-threatening skull fracture after colliding with David Luiz while playing for Wolves at Arsenal. Treated on the pitch, he was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington for emergency surgery to relieve pressure on his brain. "It is a miracle to be here with you," he later said.

Weeks later he rejoined team-mates, progressed through non-contact work and, advised by Petr Cech, resumed training in a headguard. He scored on his sixth game back at Southampton and later for Mexico against El Salvador. Confidence still wavered and, after a goalless 2022-23 league season, he left Wolves.

Fulham and Marco Silva revived him. He scored 18 times in 2024-25 for club and country, won the Gold Cup with three, including one in the final against the United States, and made the team of the tournament.

This week he agreed a two-year return to Wolves in the Championship. Then came Azteca, a precise 67th-minute header, tears and a look to the sky as he remembered his father, who died in March. The opening night felt like the summit, and perhaps the start of more to come.

Source: NY Times