2026 was Mexico's most record-breaking World Cup

Playing at home, Mexico had the highest-scoring World Cup in its history. Across their five matches in the tournament, El Tri scored 10 goals — more than in any of their other 16 World Cup appearances, surpassing their previous best of 8 goals set at France 1998.

That all-time high wasn't the work of one man. Five different players appeared on El Tri's scoresheet: Julián Quiñones, Raúl Jiménez, Luis Romo, Mateo Chávez, and Álvaro Fidalgo. But two names carried the real weight.

Together, Quiñones and Jiménez scored 7 of Mexico's 10 goals in the tournament — a combined scoring duo no other pair of Mexican players had ever reached in a single World Cup. The closest precedent dated back to France 1998, when Ricardo Peláez and Luis Hernández combined for 6 goals between them.

Mexico advanced from a group with South Africa, South Korea, and Czechia, and eliminated Ecuador in the Round of 32 with a brace from the star duo. The tournament would end in the Round of 16, where England won 3-2 in a match where, once again, both Quiñones and Jiménez scored. It was an elimination, yes — but also the close of the highest-scoring campaign the Mexican national team has ever had.