Portugal’s national soccer team has stated clearly and publicly that they never felt unsafe during their visit to Mexico City for the March 28 friendly match at Banorte Stadium (Estadio Azteca), adding their voice to the counternarrative to the media-driven assumption that Mexico is too dangerous to host the World Cup.

Joao Madjer, head coach of the Portuguese national team, told ESPN that before the friendly match that inaugurated the still-being-remodeled stadium, they were able to judge the security situation. Their experience in the country was positive.

“We were delighted,” Madjer said. “We saw several landmarks in Mexico City, and there were no problems at all. We even went to Tepito, which they say is a very dangerous area.”

In an event organized by the Portuguese Football Federation on the eve of the match, a group of Portuguese legends made their way to the neighborhood of Tepito — on foot, weaving through the neighborhood’s famous street stalls selling jerseys, sneakers and micheladas — to play a cascarita at the storied Maracaná court, a beloved seven-a-side pitch in the heart of the city.

Former players, including goalkeeper Rui Patrício and forwards Nuno Gomes and Hélder Postiga, along with Ricardinho and Fernando Meira, faced off against a local team in the tricolor. After the match, they signed autographs and posed for selfies with residents and vendors from the neighborhood.

Madjer, who took part in the visit, reflected on the experience on social media. “In one of the most challenging neighborhoods in the world, we always felt safe,” he wrote, adding that the hospitality and warmth shown to the delegation made them feel at home.

The positive statements about Mexico by the Portuguese coaching staff and players are especially meaningful as they follow earlier statements of concern issued by the Portuguese Football Federation in February on the heels of the wave of violent events in reaction to the capture and death of drug lord Nemesio “El Mencho” Rubén Oseguera Cervantes.

At that time, team officials said they would assess the security situation to determine whether the necessary conditions were in place for the team to travel to Mexico. 

Paulinho, a member of the Portuguese national team, was in a good position to reassure his national teammates, being a resident of Mexico as a forward for Toluca. He acknowledged that there have been recent violent incidents in Jalisco, but stressed to his teammates that they are not daily occurrences.   

“My role was to talk to my teammates, to tell them that Mexico is a safe country,” he said in an interview the day of the match. “I talked to them and reassured them.”

With reports from El Financiero, ESPN and Record