Raúl Jiménez was certainly one of Mexico’s heroes in Tuesday’s pleasant towards South Korea, scoring in a 2-2 draw as El Tri proceed preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which they may co-host with the US and Canada. Following the sport, the Fulham striker shared an necessary message concerning the group’s expectations transferring ahead.
Contemporary off their 2025 Gold Cup triumph in July, Mexico returned to motion this month with back-to-back friendlies — first a scoreless draw with Japan, adopted by a dramatic 2-2 towards South Korea. Jiménez opened the scoring, however South Korea struck again with objectives within the sixty fifth and seventy fifth minutes earlier than Santiago Giménez salvaged a draw with a stoppage-time equalizer within the 92nd.
Talking within the combined zone afterward, captain Jiménez praised El Tri’s efficiency whereas stressing the necessity for progress. “Sure, I feel we took a whole lot of good issues from each video games, issues we clearly have to maintain enhancing. However that’s soccer — there aren’t any simple matches. We’ll maintain making ready for what’s actually necessary, which is available in a yr.”
The striker additionally underlined the worth of going through robust worldwide competitors as Mexico gears up for 2026. “Sure, it’s all the time necessary to face this type of opponent who’re already certified for the World Cup, the type of rivals you would possibly run into there. And, like I mentioned, it’s about persevering with to enhance sure points and doing issues the fitting means,” he added.
Raul Jimenez #9 of Mexico and Minjae Kim #4 of South Korea battle for the ball throughout the first half of the match at GEODIS Park on September 09, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
After wrapping up their US tour with two attracts, head coach Javier Aguirre famous that the squad has a stable basis however stays a piece in progress. A complete of 35 gamers have been examined to this point, and Aguirre instructed extra modifications might be on the way in which. Up subsequent, Mexico will face Colombia in Arlington on October 11 earlier than returning house to Guadalajara to play Ecuador on October 14.
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Raúl Jiménez closing in on scoring file
Jiménez’s purpose towards South Korea wasn’t simply one other tally in a pleasant — it introduced him one step nearer to historical past. The Fulham striker now sits on 44 worldwide objectives, simply two behind Jared Borgetti (46) for second place on Mexico’s all-time scoring checklist. Javier “Chicharito” Hernández stays the nation’s all-time chief with 52 objectives in 109 appearances.
With eight objectives separating him from Chicharito, Jiménez can have loads of probabilities to climb the ranks. Mexico are assured no less than eight extra friendlies earlier than the 2026 World Cup, plus three group-stage matches on the event itself. At 34, Jiménez nonetheless has time to depart his mark as certainly one of El Tri’s biggest scorers.
