Buenos Aires is preparing for Argentina’s first friendly since the 2026 World Cup, but Enzo Fernández stepped away from the national-team camp to make a quieter visit across the city.
The Chelsea midfielder went to Garrahan Children’s Hospital, where he brought gifts for young patients a day before Argentina’s meeting with Burkina Faso at the Monumental.
Quick facts
- Enzo Fernández visited patients at Garrahan Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires.
- The Argentina and Chelsea midfielder brought presents and spent time with children and their families.
- The visit came on the eve of Argentina’s friendly against Burkina Faso at the Monumental.
- It will be the first senior international match between Argentina and Burkina Faso.
- Burkina Faso, coached by Amir Abdou, have never reached a senior World Cup.
Images from the hospital showed Fernández speaking with children, sharing time with them and posing for photographs and videos. Parents also greeted and embraced the 2022 World Cup winner during the visit.
For many of the young patients, the occasion brought the rare chance to meet a player who helped Argentina lift the World Cup in Qatar. Fernández’s stop came while Lionel Scaloni’s squad gathered for its return to international action.
Argentina will now turn their attention to Burkina Faso in a fixture without previous history between the two national sides. The Monumental will stage the encounter as the world champions continue their friendly programme.
The match also forms part of the build-up around Lionel Messi’s eventual farewell to the Albiceleste. Before that chapter arrives, Scaloni’s established group face a new opponent from Africa in Buenos Aires.
For Burkina Faso, led by Amir Abdou, the trip offers a test against a squad filled with players accustomed to the highest level of club and international football. Although the Stallions have yet to qualify for a World Cup finals, the game provides another significant measure of their progress.
