When Raul Jimenez steps out at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday against England, the 35-year-old will carry one of the most striking individual records in this FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage: no goalkeeper in Premier League history has conceded more goals to the veteran striker than Jordan Pickford.

Jimenez has scored six times against Pickford across 12 meetings — matches played for both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham against Everton — and no other goalkeeper in England's top division has shipped six from the Mexican forward. With a World Cup quarter-final place at stake, that statistic will not have gone unnoticed in Thomas Tuchel's camp.

Context behind the numbers

The full picture is more nuanced than the headline figure suggests. Five of Jimenez's six goals against Pickford came while he was wearing Wolverhampton Wanderers colours — one each in the first four Wolves versus Everton encounters featuring both players, and one more in the first match after Jimenez returned from the horrifying head injury he sustained in a Premier League fixture against Arsenal in November 2020.

His record against Pickford in Fulham colours is considerably thinner: one goal, scored in a 3-1 home defeat near the end of the 2024-25 season, and five goalless appearances around it. The Jimenez who tormented Pickford most ruthlessly did so five or more years ago.

Of the six goals, three were headers and one was a penalty — a profile that offers England and Pickford a reasonably clear picture of the threats to prepare for. There is little mystery about how Jimenez operates.

More than a Pickford problem

Beyond the individual duel, Mexico arrive at their own fortress with considerable momentum. Javier Aguirre's side are unbeaten at the temporarily renamed Mexico City Stadium throughout this tournament, having played and won there three times already. The Estadio Azteca's altitude of 2,200 metres adds a further layer of difficulty for any visiting team.

Mexico's leading scorer at the competition is Julian Quinones with three goals, but Jimenez — returning to Wolverhampton Wanderers on a permanent basis after three seasons with Fulham following the club's relegation from the Premier League — remains the focal point of their attack in terms of experience and physical presence.

Now in his mid-thirties and potentially playing in his final World Cup, Jimenez will press, hold up play, and use every weapon available to a seasoned centre-forward to threaten England's goal. Pickford and Tuchel will be well aware of what is coming — the more pressing question is whether England can stop it.