Argentina routed Burkina Faso 7-0 on Saturday in an international friendly in Buenos Aires, extending its strong start to the post-World Cup period.
Lautaro Martínez, Gianluca Prestianni, Nico Paz, Julián Álvarez, Franco Mastantuono, Giuliano Simeone and an own goal by Moumoune Diallo scored for Argentina at the Monumental, which was about half full.
The match was overshadowed by problems surrounding Burkina Faso’s trip to Argentina. The African team, ranked 62nd by FIFA, arrived in Buenos Aires just five hours before kickoff after a private flight from Morocco was canceled because of technical problems.
Several senior players declined to travel, citing fatigue, leaving Burkina Faso to field a largely youthful squad. Despite the circumstances, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised the visitors for making the match possible.
“I would like to sincerely thank those who have come from Burkina Faso,” Scaloni said at a news conference. “I don’t know what problems the other guys had, but those who came, we appreciate the effort they made, they dignify football, and we tried to play the match as if it were a final, because that’s the only way these guys will be respected.
“We are enormously grateful they have been able to come because they made the effort; they could have stayed, and the match could have been canceled.”
Argentina dominated from the start, taking the lead in the fourth minute when Martínez converted a rebound after his penalty was initially saved. Diallo then scored an own goal before Prestianni, Paz and Álvarez made it 5-0 before halftime. Mastantuono and Simeone added second-half goals, with Prestianni, Mastantuono and Paz scoring their first goals for the senior national team.
“The first half was good,” Scaloni added. “We approached it quite seriously and it was quite good for us. Then in the second half, with the changes, giving minutes to the younger players and one making his debut, well, we need to give them time to adapt. But overall, we achieved our objective.”
Lionel Messi did not play after arriving in Argentina on Friday ahead of Tuesday’s friendly against Benin at the Monumental, which will mark the formal end of his 21-year international career.
“It’s going to be an unforgettable day for everyone,” Scaloni said of Messi’s farewell. “I’m grateful to be part of that because it’s going to be his day, and also a day for his teammates, those who gave him the greatest football joy that they all deserve.”
Benin are ranked 93rd by FIFA and, asked whether Argentina will look to face higher-level opposition in November, Scaloni suggested Argentina’s options would be limited.
“Well, in November we don’t have many options, right?” he said. “These are the ones available. We’re considering the teams that are free. There aren’t many. It’s not like we can choose. If we could choose, maybe it would be different, but there aren’t many.
“In the end, yes, of course, I would like to face strong opponents, but if we don’t face them, we always look for the positive side.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
