Liam Keen comment: Raul Jimenez proves quality ahead of Wolves return

The Mexican number nine had an incredible opportunity to lead the co-host nation on the biggest of all stages and his three goals in four games, as they eventually crashed out to England in a thrilling 3-2 round of 16 clash, proved he still has what it takes to perform at the highest level.

In reality, a huge majority of Wolves fans would never have questioned Jimenez’s quality anyway.

He is Wolves’ top all-time Premier League goalscorer for a reason and although he never found his prolific form for the club again after his horrific head injury, he did go on to score regularly for Fulham.

Now, making a stunning return to Wolves, everyone connected to old gold hopes he can get back to his best for the club again - and based on his World Cup exploits, there seems to be no concern on that front.

The veteran forward has performed well in all of Mexico’s matches, but against England in the early hours of Monday morning, he proved to be a player head and shoulders above Championship level.

His hold-up and link-up play was exceptional, while his aerial threat was a consistent worry for the Three Lions.

Mexico utilised his presence in the air by swinging in dozens of good crosses that Jimenez attacked - only to be denied by a number of incredible saves by Jordan Pickford.

Ezri Konsa, who has performed so well for Aston Villa and is clearly a good footballer, struggled to contain Jimenez for most of the match and particularly when they were coming up against each other in the first half.

Jimenez then went on to take his second half penalty expertly in an extreme high pressure situation and at 35-years-old he is showing little sign of slowing down.

He is loved by Wolves fans to such an extent that some voiced on social media that they wanted the striker to get through with Mexico against England. That was certainly not the view of the majority, but it says a lot that some were willing to announce that opinion.

However, Wolves will now benefit from Jimenez’s tournament coming to an end and the striker will be given a rest before linking up with the squad in pre-season.

From more than 80,000 fans at the Azteca Stadium to a friendly at Maidenhead United’s York Road, which holds 4,500 at capacity, Jimenez’s next job is to get Wolves promoted from the second tier.

Supporters are still waiting on more additions and there is work to do with both incomings and outgoings, but if Wolves can get the balance of their squad right and ensure Jimenez has the right service, then Wolves have a striker capable of scoring in excess of 20 Championship goals next season.

There is little doubt that he could still do a job in some of Europe’s top leagues and Wolves must take advantage of the opportunity in front of them and build a squad worthy of lining up alongside him.