Julian Quinones with Team Mexico against Belgium (Via Getty Images)
With the 2026 World Cup less than two months away, football’s global scoring charts have thrown up a genuinely surprising picture. Two Mexican forwards are sitting above some of the most celebrated names in the sport, putting up numbers that demand attention regardless of where they are playing.Julián Quiñones and Armando González are not household names across Europe. But right now, they are outscoring some of the biggest superstars in global football, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé, in raw goals in the 2025-26 season.
Julian Quiñones Is Hunting the Saudi Golden Boot
Quinones has been one of the most clinical strikers in world football this season. The 29-year-old has netted 26 goals in 24 appearances for Al-Qadisiya in the Saudi Pro League, sitting level at the top of the scoring charts with Ivan Toney. Only Harry Kane, who leads the European Golden Boot race with 31 Bundesliga goals for Bayern Munich, has more across all major leagues globally. The numbers put Quiñones firmly ahead of Ronaldo and Mbappé, both on 23 goals, and Haaland, who has scored 22 times for Manchester City. For a player who arrived in Saudi Arabia from Club América in June 2024 as the most expensive outgoing transfer in Mexican football history at $16 million, the return has been extraordinary.
Born in Colombia, Quiñones completed his Mexican naturalization in 2023 and has since become a key figure for El Tri. His consistency in a league that attracts global scrutiny makes his tally difficult to dismiss. But while Quiñones has been making waves in the Middle East, Armando González has been quietly putting together a breakout campaign in Liga MX. The 22-year-old Chivas Guadalajara forward has scored 24 goals across competitions this season, including 12 in the Apertura to share the golden boot, and a further 12 in the current Clausura tournament with four more matches remaining.González bagged a brace against Pumas to crack the worldwide top four in the global scoring race and currently leads Liga MX outright. For a player who made his professional debut just five years ago and only registered his first senior club goal in July 2024, the rise has been rapid. He earned his first Mexico call-up less than six months ago, in November 2025, and scored on his second appearance, a 4-0 win over Iceland in February.
But what makes these scoring streaks even more impressive is the fact that neither of the two strikers has yet booked a place in the World Cup Squad.While Quiñones and González have both produced for both club and country, head coach Javier Aguirre has yet to confirm his selections ahead of the tournament that kicks off in June across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.For a host nation carrying enormous expectations, the form of its two most prolific domestic forwards will be impossible to ignore for much longer.
