Lautaro Martinez added a significant personal landmark to Argentina’s emphatic friendly victory over Burkina Faso at the Monumental, a night in Buenos Aires which also brought goals for Como’s Nico Paz and Fiorentina’s Franco Mastantuono.
The decision
Argentina ran out 7-0 winners, but the scoreline came against a Burkina Faso side reshaped by the absence of senior players. Their leading names had boycotted the fixture amid a dispute over the management of payments, leaving a largely Under-23 group to travel to Argentina.
The visitors landed in Buenos Aires only six hours before kick-off, following an 11-hour flight from Casablanca. Lionel Scaloni’s side took control of the occasion and built a result which underlined the depth available to the world champions.
Inter captain Lautaro opened the scoring after goalkeeper Guira had saved a penalty, putting away the rebound. It was his 42nd goal for Argentina in 86 appearances, enough to draw level with Sergio Aguero in third place on the national team’s all-time scoring list.
Only Gabriel Batistuta, with 54 goals, and Lionel Messi, who has scored 125 times in 207 Argentina appearances, remain ahead of the Inter forward.
Paz and Mastantuono also found the net, giving the Serie A contingent a prominent role in the result. Prestianni, Julian Alvarez and Giuliano Simeone scored the other goals, while Diallo’s own goal completed Argentina’s seven-goal total.
