Five hours after landing in Buenos Aires, Burkina Faso’s emergency squad walked into the Monumental and faced Argentina. By the final whistle, a 7-0 defeat was on the board, but the 84,567 home supporters rose to applaud a group of young players who had crossed the Atlantic at the last minute to prevent an international friendly from collapsing.
An improvised trip to Argentina
- Burkina Faso beat the Central African Republic 1-0 in 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on 28 September, in Casablanca.
- The senior squad had been due to leave Morocco for Buenos Aires on 30 September, but the Burkina Faso Football Federation said the charter flight was cancelled without warning by its operator.
- The established internationals then chose not to make the trip. Reports indicated that the planned commercial journey, estimated at 11 hours, was considered unsuitable, while no appearance bonus had been scheduled despite travel and accommodation being covered.
- Facing possible financial and sporting consequences if it withdrew, the federation called up players from its A’ and Under-23 groups. The Under-23 fixture against Mali was cancelled so that the younger squad could travel to Argentina.
- The replacement delegation arrived only five hours before kick-off on Saturday, with scarcely enough time to reach its hotel before heading to the stadium.
The side that met the world runners-up bore little resemblance to Burkina Faso’s usual senior selection, ranked 62nd by FIFA. Regulars such as Hervé Koffi, Arsène Kouassi, Issa Kaboré, Edmond Tapsoba and Arthur Zagré were absent.
Only Chec Bebel Doumbia had been included in coach Amir Abdou’s original squad. Abdou, the Franco-Comorian head coach, was also absent, leaving the team under Moussa “Falcao” Sanogo, the Under-23 coach. Doumbia, aged 19, was handed the captaincy.
Jack Pantoulou Diarra, 20, had previously received a senior call-up, but most of the players had no experience at the top level.
A difficult night, and a lasting memory
Argentina led 3-0 after 15 minutes, setting the tone for a one-sided evening that ended 7-0. Yet Burkina Faso’s young side continued to compete, with debutant goalkeeper Razack Guira making several interventions that prevented an even heavier scoreline.
Mohamed Zongo came on at half-time and set a national record. At 16 years, 10 months and three days, he became Burkina Faso’s youngest-ever senior international.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised the visitors’ decision to honour the fixture. He said Burkina Faso had made a considerable effort to get there and noted that the team could have remained at home, describing their choice to travel as remarkable.
The Monumental crowd had already welcomed the visiting players on their arrival. After the match, despite backing Argentina throughout, the 84,567 spectators again applauded the young Burkina Faso squad.
The players found their own victory
For Ousmane Camara, the journey mattered more than the exhaustion. The 20-year-old RFC Liège forward said he had been told to prepare for Argentina after the senior team encountered difficulties, and that he wanted to go regardless of whether the trip lasted 30 hours or longer.
Camara exchanged shirts with Nico González and said the experience was one he would tell his future children about: he had played against the Argentina forward.
Diarra, who plays for Al-Ittihad in Libya, declined to criticise the senior players who stayed behind, saying everyone had their own reasons. He admitted that the journey had been long and hard, but called the occasion a valuable experience.
“We all want to become great footballers,” Diarra said. “Perhaps we will never play against them again. We lost, but we also gained something. Today, a dream came true.”
The hastily assembled squad had little opportunity to absorb the occasion. Its return flight was scheduled for Sunday at 5am.
