Argentina turned a disrupted journey into a punishing night for Burkina Faso in Buenos Aires, winning 7-0 in Saturday’s friendly after the visitors reached Argentina only five hours before kick-off.
A delayed arrival before a one-sided friendly
- Burkina Faso had remained in Casablanca after Monday’s 1-0 victory over the Central African Republic in qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
- The squad’s planned Casablanca-to-Buenos Aires flight was cancelled without warning by the aircraft charter company, leaving the Stallions stranded in Morocco on Friday evening.
- The Burkina Faso Football Federation said the national team’s trip had been affected by the unexpected cancellation, before a replacement charter flight was arranged.
- The team eventually landed in Buenos Aires just five hours before the match, with fatigue adding to the already considerable gap against the World Cup finalists.
Argentina score five before the interval
Lionel Scaloni’s side moved quickly and had the contest effectively settled long before half-time. Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring in the fourth minute, followed by Moumouni Diallo four minutes later.
Gianluca Prestianni made it 3-0 after 12 minutes, while Nicolas Paz struck in the 34th minute. Julian Alvarez completed a five-goal first half two minutes later.
Argentina maintained control after the break. Franco Mastantuono added the sixth goal in the 56th minute, and Giuliano Simeone struck in the second minute of stoppage time to complete the 7-0 result.
Scaloni gives three players their first caps
The friendly also allowed Scaloni to spread minutes widely across his squad, using 22 players over the course of the evening.
- Santiago Castro made his Argentina debut.
- Tomas Palacios earned his first senior international appearance.
- Matias Soulé also received his maiden cap.
For Burkina Faso, the fixture was nearly lost before it began. Instead, a side arriving exhausted from an unexpected travel crisis faced an Argentina team sharp from the opening whistle and relentless through to the final moments.
