Rubio Yovani Méndez RubÃÂn (born 1 March 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward who currently plays for El Paso Locomotive FC in the USL Championship. Born in the United States, he plays for the Guatemala national team.
Born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon, Rubin attended Whitford Middle School. He started his youth career at Westside Metros and played at Beaverton High School.
Rubin signed a four-year deal with FC Utrecht upon turning eighteen in March 2014. Rubin started, played the full 90 minutes and recorded an assist in his professional debut for Utrecht on 17 August 2014, in a 2âÂÂ1 victory over Willem II.
He won the Beloften Eredivisie in 2015âÂÂ16 with Jong FC Utrecht.
Rubin signed with Silkeborg IF of the Danish Superliga in January 2017 after being released from FC Utrecht.
After his departure from Silkeborg, Rubin signed with Stabæk for the remainder of the 2017 season.
Rubin joined Liga MX side Club Tijuana in February 2018. After mostly playing on loan with Tijuana's affiliate Dorados, Rubin joined San Diego Loyal in September 2020.
On 7 January 2021, Rubin joined MLS side Real Salt Lake. On 7 May 2021, Rubin scored the opening goal against San Jose Earthquakes with a bicycle kick. Salt Lake would go on to lose the game 1âÂÂ2. The goal was selected as the 2021 MLS Goal of the Year.
On 14 January 2024, Rubin was loaned from Real Salt Lake to Liga MX club Querétaro.
On 24 April 2025, Rubin joined USL Championship side Charleston Battery.
On 12 July 2025, Rubin scored his first goal for Charleston with a header in the 68th minute against New Mexico United in Isotopes Park. It proved the winning goal with the game ending 2âÂÂ1, which brought Charleston to the top of the USL.
On 30 December 2025, El Paso Locomotive announced they had signed Rubin to a contract ahead of the 2026 USL Championship season.
A former United States under-17 player, Rubin in 2012 was named U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year.
Rubin was eligible to play for Guatemala, Mexico, or the United States. He joined the United States team for the match against the Czech Republic on 3 September 2014. He earned his first cap when he started on 14 November 2014, in a 2âÂÂ1 defeat against Colombia, narrowly failing to score a header in the second half and attracting praise from manager Jürgen Klinsmann.
Following a one-time switch earlier in the year, Rubin made his debut for Guatemala in a 2âÂÂ0 Nations League defeat to French Guiana on 2 June 2022.
In June 2023, Rubin was named to Guatemala's squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. During Guatemala's opening match against Cuba on 28 June 2023, he was fouled and injured in the opening ten minutes in which he was replaced by Guatemala teammate Darwin Lom. He remained in Guatemala's roster and was an unused substitute in Guatemala's second group match, a scoreless draw, against Canada on 1 July.
On 4 July 2023, Rubin returned to Guatemala's starting 11 in the Gold Cup during Group D's third and final group match against Guadeloupe. He scored 2 goals, helping Guatemala secure a 3âÂÂ2 victory against Guadeloupe and helping the team top the group and move onto the quarterfinals. Guatemala lost 0âÂÂ1 to Jamaica in the quarterfinals.
In the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Rubin scored in the last group-stage game to help Guatemala defeat Guadeloupe 3âÂÂ2 and finish second in the group, advancing them to the knockouts. In the quarterfinal against Canada, Rubin equalized for his side in the 69th minute with a header from a cross by Oscar Santis. Guatemala ended up defeating Canada in penalty kicks, a result which was widely considered an upset. Rubin became Guatemala's all-time top scorer in the Gold Cup, with four goals (two in this tournament and two in 2023). Guatemala was eliminated in a 2âÂÂ1 loss against the United States in the semi-finals.
Rubin was born to a Mexican father and a Guatemalan mother.
Individual