Alice Soto
|
Soto playing for the Mexican U-20 national team in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alice Fernanda Soto Gallegos | ||
| Date of birth | 26 March 2006 | ||
| Place of birth | Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Monterrey | ||
| Number | 30 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2018–2020 | Pachuca | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2024 | Pachuca | 114 | (19) |
| 2025– | Monterrey | 13 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2021–2022 | Mexico U-17 | 9 | (6) |
| 2022– | Mexico U-20 | 17 | (5) |
| 2024– | Mexico | 10 | (6) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 April 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 July 2025 | |||
Alice Fernanda Soto Gallegos (born 26 March 2006) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga MX Femenil club Monterrey and the Mexico women's national football team.
Club career
Pachuca (2018–2024)
In early 2018, Soto joined C.F. Pachuca’s youth academy. Later that year, at the age of 12 years and two months, she became the youngest professional female footballer to be registered with the Mexican Football Federation after Pachuca included her as part of the first-team roster for the 2018–19 Liga MX Femenil season.[1] Soto would not play with Pachuca’s first-team until February 2020, when she made her Liga MX Femenil debut with at age thirteen, as a 65th-minute substitute in a 5–0 home victory versus Querétaro.[2]
By debuting at thirteen, Soto became the youngest player to have debuted in Liga MX Femenil, a record that can't be broken due to current Liga MX Femenil regulations prohibiting players under fifteen to play professionally. On 28 March 2021, aged fourteen, Soto became the youngest Mexican footballer to score a goal at a professional level after scoring Pachuca’s only goal in a 0–1 victory over Puebla.[3][4]
Soto breakthrough year with Pachuca came in 2023, when she became a prominent starter during the Clausura 2023 tournament, helping her team reach the final of the competition. Due to Soto being called to the Mexico women's national under-20 team to play the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in Dominican Republic, she had to leave her club in the middle of the playoffs. Mexico ended up winning the tournament, with Soto winning the best-player of the tournament award as well.[5] The day after the final of the U-20 Championship, Soto traveled back to Mexico to re-join Pachuca just a few hours before the second-leg of the Clausura 2023 final against Club América. She played the entire second-half of the final, netting one goal, but Pachuca ended up losing to América by a 4–2 aggregate score.[6][7] Due to her performances during the Clausura 2023, she was recognized by the league as the best female youth player of the 2022–23 season.[8]
After her breakthrough with Pachuca during the Clausura 2023, Soto became a regular fixture for Pachuca until she exited the club in December 2024.
Monterrey (2025–present)
After much speculation about her future, C.F. Monterrey announced on 27 December 2024 that Soto was joining their side after her exit from Pachuca.[9]
International career
Youth
Soto has been part of the Mexico women’s national team football program since the youth level. In 2022, she participated with the Mexico women's national under-17 football team during the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-17 Championship in which she helped Mexico reached the final by netting six goals. Later in that year, she was promoted to the Mexico U-20 women's national team and included as the youngest member of the team for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, seeing action as a substitute in all games that Mexico played during the competition.[10] Additionally, she was also part of the Mexico U-17 team that participated at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.[11]
During the 2023 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship, Soto played an important role for Mexico to reach the final and winning the competition, with CONCACAF naming her as the best-player of the tournament.[5] In 2024, Soto was included in Mexico’s roster for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, in which she started all four games that Mexico played during that tournament.[12]
Senior
Soto was called to the Mexico senior team for the first time on 18 October 2024 for friendlies against Venezuela and Thailand.[13] She made her debut with the senior team as a 45th-minute substitute during the match against Thailand, in which she also netted two goals.[14]
Career statistics
Club
- As of As of match played 12 April 2025[15]
| Club | Season | League | League Cup [a] | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| C.F. Pachuca | 2019–20 | Liga MX Femenil | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| 2020–21 | 16 | 2 | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2021–22 | 22 | 2 | — | 22 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | 23 | 5 | — | 23 | 5 | |||
| 2023–24 | 37 | 9 | — | 37 | 9 | |||
| 2024–25 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| Total | 114 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 117 | 19 | ||
| C.F. Monterrey | 2024–25 | Liga MX Femenil | 13 | 4 | — | 13 | 4 | |
| Total | 13 | 4 | — | 13 | 4 | |||
| Career total | 127 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 130 | 23 | ||
- ^ Includes Summer Cup
International
- As of As of match played 12 April 2025[16]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | 2024 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4 | |
| Total | 8 | 6 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 29 October 2024 | Estadio Nemesio Diez, Toluca, Mexico | Thailand | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 4–0 | |||||
| 3. | 19 February 2025 | Pinatar Arena, San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain | Chinese Taipei | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2025 Pinatar Cup |
| 4. | 25 February 2025 | China | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 5. | 8 April 2025 | Shell Energy Stadium, Houston, United States | Jamaica | 2–0 | 4–0 | Friendly |
| 6. | 4–0 |
Honours
- Mexico U-20
Individual
- CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship Golden Ball: 2023[5]
References
- ^ Manjarrez, Miguel (13 July 2018). "A corta edad Alice Soto podría debutar con Pachuca en Liga MX Femenil". El Sol de Salamanca (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ Manjarrez, Miguel (25 February 2020). "Debut triunfal de niña salmantina en Liga MX Femenil". El Sol de Salamanca (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "Puebla F.C. vs Pachuca". ligafemenil.mx (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Con 14 años, Alice Soto de Pachuca es la jugadora más joven en anotar en la Liga MX Femenil". Milenio (in Spanish). 23 March 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Mexico's Soto, Velasco earn top honors at CWU20". CONCACAF. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ OnceDiario. "Liga MX Femenil: ¡América, campeón del Clausura 2023! Venció 2-1 a Pachuca". www.oncediario.com (in European Spanish). Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ^ "Alice Soto jugó dos finales con 31 horas de diferencia". ESPN.com.mx (in Spanish). 6 June 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ^ Meganoticias. "¡Lo logró! Gana Alice Soto Balón de Oro". MEGANOTICIAS (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ^ IBÁÑEZ, MARIFER (25 December 2024). "Rayadas da un regalo de Navidad con la llegada de Alice Soto". ABC Noticias (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ^ "La Selección Mexicana Femenil Sub-20 da convocatoria para el Mundial Costa Rica 2022 | TUDN Aqui esta el tri | TUDN". www.tudn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Squad List: FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022" (PDF). FIFA. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Selección Mexicana Sub 20 Femenil da conocer convocatoria para Mundial | TUDN Selección Mexicana | TUDN". www.tudn.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ^ Uzeta, Karla (19 October 2024). "Pedro López tiene a sus convocadas para los juegos amistosos de la selección mexicana femenil". ESTO (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "México Femenil goleó sin problemas a Tailandia en duelo amistoso". www.record.com.mx (in Spanish). 29 October 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Alice Soto - Perfil de Jugadora - LIGA MX Femenil - Página Oficial de la Liga Mexicana del Fútbol Profesional". www.ligafemenil.mx. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
- ^ "Mexico - A. Soto - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". us.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 19 February 2025. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
External links
- Alice Soto at Soccerway.com
- Alice Soto at Liga MX Femenil (archive) (in Spanish)