June 30, 2026, 6:07 a.m. ET
MEXICO CITY — Álvaro Fidalgo is grateful. After scoring your first career World Cup goal to cement a perfect group stage for your country, who wouldn’t be?
“Today, we’re all here with Mexico,” he said in Spanish after Mexico’s 3-0 win over Czechia. “Today, all Mexicans are hand-in-hand. We’re enjoying this victory. … We’re here. Mexicans, the Mexican national team, savoring this full-circle night for everybody.”
And for Fidalgo, Mexico is his chosen home. That’s also the case for Julián Quiñones, El Tri’s leading scorer through the group stage. All in all, four players wearing green at this year’s World Cup were born abroad: Fidalgo in Spain, Quiñones in Colombia, and Brian Gutiérrez and Obed Vargas in the United States.
As legendary singer Chavela Vargas once said, “Los mexicanos nacemos donde nos da la rechingada gana” – Mexicans are born wherever they feel like.
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Each of these players have their own reasons for choosing Mexico. For some, it was about embracing their familial roots.
“For me it’s not whether it was worth it or not,” Vargas said about his choice to play for El Tri over USA. “I chose to play for Mexico for the love of this country, for my family. If I wasn’t here now, I’d do it exactly the same way. I love this country, and my family.”
Others wanted to honor the country that took them in at different points in their lives and gave them the stability to launch their careers.
Julián Quiñones’ path from Telembí Triangle to El Tri
Born in Magüí Payán, a town located in Colombia’s Telembí Triangle near the Ecuadorian border, Quiñones grew up within a community that had been left harshly impoverished by several years of armed conflict and drug trafficking. Quiñones found his path through Fútbol Paz, a local amateur club that aims to develop young talent in the surrounding areas in hopes to help them flip that into opportunities to generate income for their families, according to their website.
Quiñones caught the eye of Tigres UANL after scoring 50 goals across 38 matches and at the age of 17, the Colombian moved to Monterrey to begin his professional football career.
“Julián is a humble kid, Julián is a kid who likes to listen,” Mexico manager Javier Aguirre said. “I have nothing but words of praise for him, because he and many others who are there, it’s cost them a lot to get all the way to this point. I’ve seen family photo albums, and it makes you want to cry because of what these players — the parents of these players — have gone through to get to where they are.”
Despite several reported offers and attempts by Colombia to entice Quiñones to play for his birth country, he rejected Los Cafeteros and completed his naturalization process in October 2023, making him eligible to represent Mexico on the international stage.
That decision has been vindicated, perhaps, by both of Quiñones’ timely goals through El Tri’s first three games.
El Maguito soars with Las Aguilas
Fidalgo grew up in Noreña, the smallest municipality in Asturias and second smallest in all of Spain. After starting his club career with Real Madrid, “El Maguito” later signed with CD Castellon of La Segunda División before eventually former Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari brought him to Club América in 2021.
In five years with the club, Fidalgo established himself as one of the top midfielders in Liga MX and left an indelible legacy helping Las Aguilas to three championships. He got naturalized in February, just months ahead of training camp.
“I’m grateful,” Fidalgo said. “I try to say that every day because everything I say, words of thanks, always falls short of everything this country has given me since I got here five years ago. Whenever I can, I try to return that love in the best way possible.”
What better way to reciprocate the love he’s received than a goal in his home stadium?
“He was able to celebrate it like the Mexican that he is,” Aguirre said.
With a perfect group stage now in the rearview, Mexico faces a tough task ahead against Ecuador in the round of 32. La Tri is talented and entered the World Cup as the second-best ranked team out of CONMEBOL, but they struggled in their group stage before salvaging their place in the knockouts with a comeback win over group winner Germany.
Mexico hasn’t played their best football either throughout pool play, but they seemed to finally turn a corner in the second half against Czechia.
“We have to keep going at this level,” Fidalgo said. “We have to keep it up as a team and from game-to-game. We’re going together, carrying everyone’s dreams with us.”
El Tri has already made history. They have their sights set on more. That’s what binds this team of Mexicans together.
“All of us that are here, it doesn’t matter the origin,” Aguirre said. “What matters is the common denominator that we love our country a lot, and that we want to keep achieving things.”