Mexico face USA in a 2026 international friendly in what will be the final match of this FIFA window for both teams. Mauricio Pochettino’s side will go without Christian Pulisic in the starting lineup, and Rafa Marquez’s squad suffers its own key absence with Julian Quinones sidelined.
Julian Quinones’ absence is due to a muscle injury suffered with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qadsiah. The forward was substituted during the September 14 AFC Champions League match against Al Wasl, and it was subsequently confirmed that he would be unavailable for Mexico’s fixtures, that includes matchup against USA.
The injury represents a significant loss for Rafa Marquez, as Quinones was one of Mexico’s standout players at the 2026 World Cup. Due to his injury, he missed the opening matches of El Tri’s new era.
Mexico need Quinones
FIFA published its tactical analysis of the 2026 World Cup and highlighted wing play as the Mexican national team’s primary offensive threat during the tournament.
Julian Quinones #16 of Mexico.
El Tri completed a perfect group stage with 2-0 wins against South Africa, 1-0 against South Korea, and 3-0 against Czechia without conceding a goal. They then eliminated Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 before being knocked out in the round of 16 following a 3-2 loss to England. In those five matches, they scored 10 goals, with Julian Quinones directly involved in the build-up of seven.
The FIFA report highlights that Mexico utilized different structures on each flank. On the left, Jesus Gallardo and Quinones constantly swapped depths and positions: the attacker vacated the wing to receive between the lines while Gallardo exploited that movement to attack the outer space and reach the end line.
Quinones was the most productive player in that mechanism. The forward was involved in the sequence for seven of the team’s 10 goals in the tournament and scored four of them, leading the team.
Key takeaways
- A muscle injury keeps Julian Quinones sidelined for Mexico against the USA.
- Zero goals were conceded by El Tri during the World Cup group stage.
- Seven of 10 goals featured direct involvement from the attacker during the tournament.
