The Mexican soccer team has traditionally been the strongest team within CONCACAF, the confederation of North American teams. And no matter how many people still insist on considering that Mexico belongs to South America, or even Central America, it is clear that the Aztec country is one of the three that make up the geographical area of North America, of the hand of the United States and Canada. Even though they have little to do socially and culturally, Mexicans have always served as a bridge between Latin America and North America, and in football it was no different. In fact, before the MLS, the American soccer league, became international, the first foreign players used to be Mexicans. The talent of the Aztecs to play soccer is not new, and of course its quality is unquestionable, but it is true that in major championships, Mexico has not achieved too many successes.
Beyond winning the Gold Cup on numerous occasions, and even winning a Confederations Cup in 1999, the Mexican team has not been able to demonstrate its talent in World Cups nor >America’s Cup. They are the two largest tournaments at the international level, but their participation in them has not exactly been brilliant. Nor in the Olympic Games, where they have only been twice. Mexico, however, usually goes to the World Cups thanks to its quality in its area, and its classification does not usually cost it too much. Of course, once in the World Championship, things get difficult for the Aztecs, since they encounter rivals of a usually higher level. In 2022, in Qatar, the team failed to advance beyond the group stage, something that had not happened for more than two decades. A poor performance prior to the 2026 World Cup, which will take place precisely in North America, organized jointly between Mexico, Canada and the USA. Even in 2018 the team managed to qualify for the round of 16 in Russia, despite the previous sexual scandal. And that concentration was anything but calm.
The Mexican team in the World Cup in Russia
Mexico, as usual, had managed to qualify without many problems for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. After playing 16 games in the CONCACAF qualifying phase, the Mexicans managed to remain first, with eleven wins, four draws and only one defeat. A magnificent career in the face of a World Cup that seemed to be very open, as in fact it was, with several teams with title options. The preparation for the championship included some friendly matches against international teams, to warm up our engines. At the beginning of June, a match of this nature was played against Scotland at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City. The result was 1-0 in favor of the Mexicans, and as usual, the boys wanted to celebrate… except that the party perhaps got a little out of hand, as I can see later in the media.
A party with a multitude of escorts
The next day, the team had the day off, after the game, and just before embarking on a flight to Denmark, where they would continue preparing for the World Cup. That is why the players decided to celebrate a big pre-party before the trip, since they knew they were going to be out of the country for weeks. The party was held in a secluded mansion in Las Lomas, on the outskirts of Mexico City, and was attended by many of the summoned players… as well as numerous female guests. There was later talk of more than 30 young ladies who had been invited by the players themselves to spend a fun night, where there was no shortage of food, dancing and drinking. The news did not take long to spread to the media as soon as it became known that the boys had been with the women until well into the afternoon of the next day.
The press echoed that party, making their attitude ugly to the players. They had won the friendly against Scotland and the feelings were good, but a party just before a World Cup was not exactly what the team needed. In fact, some players, such as the Dos Santos brothers, had already been involved in controversial secret meetings with women in the past. No one was saved. From Memo Ochoa to Jesús Gallardo, the main stars of the Tri, as the Mexican team is known, were involved in this scandal . And even the girls themselves came out to reveal “secrets” about the party days later, taking advantage of the popularity boost they were going to achieve.
The controversy of escorts and erotic models
There was one girl who expressed herself especially insistently in the days that followed, when the newspapers did nothing but talk about the news. Her name was Aimee Álvarez and she described herself as a “natural vampire.” In reality, the young woman was a model and had participated in erotic and almost pornographic sessions at times, something she considered “art.” The beautiful young woman went viral in those days by launching various messages on social networks, stating that the night had been “unforgettable” and that “incredible” things had happened. At first she limited herself to commenting that the players had danced and drank with her and many other girls. Later, in other paid interviews, the blonde model assured that she had had something else with a player, but did not want to specify with whom.
What did arouse the anger of the young model is that the majority of the media referred to her and her companions as “escorts”. In fact, for the majority they were already directly prostitutes, who had been hired by the players to have sex in that nocturnal orgy. Aimée declared that she had never charged for sex and that those accusations were very serious. Later, however, she assured that she had no problem having sex with someone who could give her gifts, such as a lover, if she considered him attractive. Some of the girls who were recognized at the party were erotic models who, later, also ventured into the world of pornographic cinema, so the doubt will always remain there…
Mexico, eliminated in the round of 16
And what happened to Mexico after the scandal? The team arrived in Russia to face Sweden, South Korea and Germany, difficult rivals in the group stage. With two great victories, including the victory against the Germans, Mexico managed to get into the round of 16 as second in the group. By that time, the rumors and gossip had already ended, and everyone was supporting La Tri in the World Cup. However, the team would not go too far since nothing more and nothing less than Neymar’s powerful Brazil was waiting for them in the round of 16. The Mexicans could do little against the offensive power of the Cariocas, who ended the match by two goals to zero. The players returned home and it was then that the issue of the previous “orgy” came to light, as one of the possible causes of Mexico’s poor performance in the World Cup.