MEXICO CITY -- If it's a miracle to still be alive after a near-fatal skull fracture, then what do you then make of an athlete who is somehow still playing, and not just playing, but playing at the highest level, representing his country at the FIFA World Cup?
On paper, Raúl Jiménez should not have been starting in Mexico's tournament opener on June 11.
Almost six years before stepping onto the familiar Estadio Azteca pitch, the Mexico international was involved in a shocking blow to his head that led to not only questions about the future of his career, but also his own life. During a Premier League match for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Arsenal in November 2020, his teammates and coaching staff remember literally hearing when the striker clashed heads with opposing defender David Luiz, knocking Jiménez unconscious and lifeless on the pitch.
"There are things that you are able to put away from your memories, but this moment will stay forever, and then [that] noise, that will stay me," said former coach Nuno Espírito Santo in a Wolves documentary. "And then you start listening: 'Code red, code red.'
"Is he alive? What's code red?"
Jiménez knows he is fortunate to have not lost his life after being rushed to the hospital.
"They told me it was like [a] miracle to be there," he said in an interview with The Guardian a year after the event. "The skull fracture, the bone broke and there was a little bit of bleeding inside the brain. It was pushing my brain to the inside."
Soccer, clearly, took a back seat. When it's hard to eat because of the subtle movements a jaw makes, or even just walk after 10 days in the hospital, you don't think about scoring goals. Those thoughts had to be sidelined for more than six months, when he miraculously returned to play by summer 2021, this time with a cushioned headband that he would need to wear for the rest of his career.
He was back, but he knew he had to be patient. He knew things wouldn't come easy.
Jiménez knew that, down the line, he would get his chance once again on the sport's biggest stage.
Up close, it's easy to notice the scar.
When Jiménez was chatting with media ahead of the World Cup, the line running from his right temple down to his ear has become a visible part of his appearance. It's a part of the 35-year-old who feels no need to hide it, who has no reason to believe that his World Cup ambitions have been halted.
"I've imagined many things, from starting a match, scoring a goal, lifting the trophy," he said. "I think it's something we first have to imagine, think about, dream about. And then go out into each match with the intention of making it a reality."
There's a special connection that Jiménez has with the historic Estadio Azteca. It was there that the forward started his career with Club América, a giant of Mexico's top-flight Liga MX. With América at the Azteca, Jiménez scored his first professional goal and also won his first Liga MX championship.
And with Mexico co-hosting this year's World Cup, another dream came into view: scoring a goal at the venue. Not just another goal at his old stomping grounds either, but a first-ever World Cup goal for the striker who has been involved in four separate editions of the major tournament for his national team.
"It's something I'm very excited about. It's something I'm working towards achieving. It's something I've been thinking about for a while," Jiménez said before the tournament.
Since that first World Cup call-up 12 years ago, the Mexican isn't the same young 20-something that was about to sign with Atlético Madrid. Much time has passed for the humble video-game-loving kid from the small town of Tepeji who went on to play for Benfica, Wolves and Fulham. After the World Cup, he'll rejoin Wolves, signing a two-year contract with an option for a third.
Younger than only 40-year-old goalkeeping legend Guillermo Ochoa, Jiménez is now among the elder statesmen in Mexico's World Cup roster -- a role that he has embraced.
"I like that part of setting an example, of letting my teammates know that it's possible, that we can do it with one more push, that it's always important to never give up and fight for every ball as if it were the last," Jiménez said. "Giving that extra effort in the moments when the team needs it most is when you really have to step up and show up."
And as much as he's wanted that first World Cup goal, one only needs to watch any of his minutes for club or country to know that he isn't simply a poacher seeking shots within yards of goals. Toughened by years in the Premier League, Jiménez battles for possession, drops back when needed and regularly fights for balls before rapidly dishing out a quick pass into space for an oncoming runner. This isn't a striker who's made a name for himself just because of his ability to put the ball in the back of the net, he's also someone who's hungry to create chances and do plenty of the dirty work.
"I'm never gonna shy away," he said. "No matter the moment, no matter how important it is, no matter if the game is already decided, I will always raise my hand to be out there on the field to help the team move forward and do their best, to give that extra step."
Part of that means supporting the next generation of strikers. For someone who is just six goals behind the national team's next all-time leader, Jiménez insists on building up the forwards who will eventually replace him, namechecking the likes of Armando González of Chivas and AC Milan's Santiago Gimenez.
They'll have their chances, but this summer, it's clearly been Jiménez's time to shine. Almost six years since his horrific injury, he earned a peak moment in a career that was nearly taken away from him.
When Mexico faced off against South Africa in the World Cup opener, it was the veteran striker who led the line as the out-and-out forward. Following an early lead thanks to a goal from winger Julián Quiñones, Jiménez was then the one who cemented a 2-0 victory at the Azteca.
Once looking understandably cautious for months, if not a couple years, whenever a lofted ball was launched in the air toward him, Jiménez perfectly knocked the ball in through a header and immediately burst into tears. Pointing to the sky while crying, Jiménez got his moment of glory back home.
"I'm missing a goal so far this year, so what better moment to score than in the World Cup," he said ahead of the game.
The dream doesn't stop here. With Jiménez as the leading striker, Mexico went three for three in the group stage, thereby qualifying for the knockout round of the World Cup. On Tuesday, they'll return to the Azteca for a round-of-32 match against Ecuador, and were they to win that, they would then return once more to Mexico City on July 5. Regardless of whether he scores again in this tournament, Jiménez is just happy to still be playing, to still be a part of the national team.
"Let's hope it's a great World Cup for the whole roster, not just for me, but for the entire squad," he said. "We can make history together."
