The increase in global concern for sustainable energy solutions has driven offshore wind energy development, and given its vast coastal potential, wind energy is a promising renewable energy source in Brazil. This study investigated the behavior of monopile foundations, internationally widely used in offshore wind turbines, installed in quartz sand, and subjected to monotonic lateral loading. Two three-dimensional numerical models were developed in Plaxis 3D software, initially using the Mohr-Coulomb perfectly plastic constitutive model, followed by the advanced Hardening Soil model. The research was motivated by the limitations of the main standards, API and DNV, initially developed for flexible foundations of oil and gas industry platforms, which do not adequately represent the behavior of monopiles. The analyses included the evaluation of deformed meshes, displacements in the load application axis, shear deformations, principal stresses, plasticity points, and load-displacement curves. Comparisons with experimental data from geotechnical centrifuge modeling revealed limitations in simulating the stiffness and strength of the monopile, attributed to the lack of simulation of pile-driving effects and the calibration of constitutive models under inadequate triaxial conditions. For better field behavior replication, the numerical model is proposed to be replicated with the calibration of constitutive models based on lateral compression triaxial tests. The difficulties found in numerical modeling highlight the complexity of replicating field conditions, requiring more sophisticated approaches. Furthermore, parametric analyses were performed based on stiffness and strength, indicating that increasing these parameters results in higher lateral forces for the same level of lateral displacement.