15 years ago, the Mexican steak that once troubled Ochoa has now taken down 8 Tunisian international players.

For now.

On June 14, in Monterrey, the first group match. Sweden's Ayari scored a brace, while Isak, Gyökeres, and Svanberg took turns rubbing salt in the wound. 1-5. Tunisia's goal was turned into a buffet.

The next day, head coach Ramzy was dismissed. Firing a coach after just one round of World Cup group matches is a rare move in the entire history of the tournament. The Tunisian Football Federation urgently signed Frenchman Le Guen to take over, gambling on a last-ditch effort to salvage a hopeless situation.

It didn't work.

On June 21, still in Monterrey, against Japan. Ayase Ueda scored two, and Daichi Kamada and others joined in the rout. 0-4. This match was also the 1000th game in World Cup history—a milestone night where Tunisia served as the backdrop.

On June 25, in Kansas City, the final round. Skhiri scored an own goal in the 3rd minute, Brobbey and Van Hecke each chipped in, and Mastouri pulled one back for Tunisia. 1-3.

After three matches, they conceded 12 goals, scored 2, earned zero points, and finished bottom of the group, heading home.

The investigation quickly turned to the training base's dining table. The entire Tunisian squad was stationed in Monterrey, Mexico, where they consumed locally sourced meat for over half a month. Clenbuterol has been used for years in Mexico's livestock industry, with authorities banning it several times, but the effect is practically zero. The investigation directly points to the steak and pork chops at the camp restaurant, largely ruling out the possibility of secret doping in the locker room.

This kind of bad luck is old hat for Mexico.

In the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Mexico's own national team had five players test positive for Clenbuterol. Among them was goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa—the Mexican international who later made a name for himself in Europe. The team immediately kicked them out of the squad. FIFA and WADA jointly investigated and concluded in October of the same year: it was a meat issue, charges dropped, no problem.

That same year, the U-17 World Cup was also held in Mexico. Over 100 participating youth players tested positive for Clenbuterol. That's over a hundred minors simultaneously affected, a far more alarming figure than five or eight. FIFA had no other explanation besides attributing it to meat contamination.

The Mexicans themselves were spooked. For the 2015 Gold Cup, the Mexican Football Federation issued a strict order: everyone on the national team, no red meat. A country's football federation was forced into a ban by its own beef.

Now, eight Tunisians flew to the same land, stayed in the same city, ate the same kind of meat. The script hasn't even changed.

FIFA declined to comment. The Tunisian Football Federation also refused to comment. The eight players themselves have not responded publicly as of now.

Based on the 2011 precedent, these eight people will likely not be suspended. WADA's 5 ng threshold is precisely the gray area left for cases of "possible food contamination." But between "likely not punished" and "this never happened," there's a whole set of investigation procedures. Files have been created, samples kept, names tied to "positive for a prohibited substance."

The pitfall Ochoa stepped into in 2011, eight Tunisians stepped into again in 2026. Fifteen years later, Mexico's red meat is still causing trouble.