Tahiel Jimenez Scout Report: Six Goals in a National Shirt, One in His Club’s

When the gap between a player’s international data and his club data grows this wide, the scout’s job is to work out which side of that gap is telling the truth. In Tahiel Jimenez’s file the numbers stand as follows: six goals in 20 appearances for Mexico’s under-20 side, a goal against hosts Chile at the 2025 U-20 World Cup, a goal in the opening match of the 2023 U-17 World Cup. On the club side: 29 league appearances for Santos Laguna and one goal in total. For a twenty-year-old striker, both of those tables belong to the same player and both are real. This report examines where the difference comes from and which data shows his level more accurately.

The framework: his full name is Tahiel Adrian Jimenez Sanchez. He was born on 22 January 2006 in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, stands 1.81 m and is left-footed. His father, Walter Jimenez, was also a professional footballer. His academy route runs through two clubs: Queretaro until 2019 and Santos Laguna from 2022. He made his professional debut on 12 April 2024 against Necaxa, coming off the bench. His first league goal also came against Necaxa, on 1 September 2024; arriving in stoppage time, it secured a 3-2 win. As of February 2026 his record with Santos Laguna stands at 29 league appearances and one goal. Internationally he played at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia and scored in the opening match. He has featured for Mexico’s under-20 side since August 2024: 20 appearances, six goals. He was in the squad for the 2025 Maurice Revello Tournament and the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he scored in a 4-1 win over the hosts. He won a silver medal at the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Games.

Strengths

• Six goals in 20 appearances for Mexico U-20: registered, sustained output at age-group level.
• Goals scored at two separate FIFA tournaments (the 2023 U-17 and 2025 U-20 World Cups).
• A left-footed centre-forward profile, relatively distinguishing within Mexico’s forward pool.
• Remaining a squad fixture across three separate national youth levels at twenty.
• No extended injury interruption on record.

Weaknesses

• One goal in 29 league appearances: club-level output far behind the international data.
• Opening the 2026-27 season with six minutes, indicating a narrowing role within the squad.
• Only 144 minutes across 12 appearances in the 2025-26 Clausura: almost all of them short cameos.
• At 1.81 m he fits neither the target-man nor the small-space forward definition; the forward type has not yet clarified.
• The contract end date cannot be verified in public sources.

Development Areas

In this twenty-year-old file the development heading contains a context problem ahead of any technical one. The first and most urgent area is minutes: a half-season of 144 minutes and a season opening of six minutes produce no ground on which any technical category can be measured. The data that would show his true level is an uninterrupted run of twenty matches, and that run is not visible in Santos Laguna’s current squad structure. The second area is clarifying the forward type: for a left-footed centre-forward of 1.81 m to become a fixture at the top level, either a numerical edge in box finishing or clear competence in back-to-goal play is required, and neither is visible in any measured form in today’s public data. The third is transferring the international output onto the club pitch: whether a player who scores six in 20 at under-20 level can repeat the same movement patterns against Liga MX defences is entirely a question of minutes and confidence.

Contract Situation

The player came through the Santos Laguna academy and has been part of the first-team squad since 2024. His contract end date could not be verified in public sources, a common data gap stemming from Liga MX clubs sharing contract details sparingly. His market value stands at €1.4 million, with a peak of €1.9 million recorded on 31 May 2025; the fall between the two is consistent with the loss of minutes over the last twelve months. Registration structures for young players in Mexico are usually built long-term in the club’s favour, so any movement in the file will depend on the club’s squad planning rather than the player’s own wishes. It should be noted that these items are unconfirmed.

Career Projection

The decisive variable over the next twelve months is singular: whether Jimenez finds regular minutes in Liga MX. If space opens in the Santos Laguna forward line and he reaches a run of fifteen to twenty matches, it becomes measurable for the first time how much of the international data transfers onto the club pitch; in that scenario a file emerges of a young forward established in Liga MX in the twenty-one age band. If minutes stay at the current level, the most likely route is a loan spell within Liga MX or a development season at Liga de Expansión level; in Mexico that route is a standard rung for forwards who stand out in age-group national teams but cannot find minutes at club level. On the international side, approaching the end of the under-20 level means that source of visibility will also narrow in the period ahead, a factor that makes club minutes even more critical.

This report was prepared by cross-checking data from Wikipedia, Santos Laguna’s official club page, FotMob, Soccerway and Sofascore. The contract end date and aerial-duel breakdown could not be found in public sources and are marked unconfirmed in the report. GEGEN SCORE is an editorial assessment score combining technical, tactical, mental, physical, potential and risk components; it is a comparison tool, not a transfer decision on its own. Last updated: 21 September 2026.

Cem Yildirim — Gegen Pres North America and CONCACAF correspondent. He follows MLS academies and Liga MX’s young talents.