Argentina secured a huge 7-0 victory over Burkina Faso, but the result has been overshadowed by major controversy surrounding the African team’s preparations and travel arrangements ahead of the friendly match.
Burkina Faso faced serious difficulties after the charter flight scheduled to take them from Casablanca, Morocco, was cancelled due to a technical issue. The situation led some first-team players to refuse to travel, citing fatigue and the difficult journey that resulted from the changes to their original travel plans.
With several key players unavailable, Burkina Faso was forced to quickly call up players from their U23 squad to complete the team travelling to Argentina. Their scheduled U23 match against Mali was also cancelled so that some of the young players could join the trip to Buenos Aires.
Burkina Faso eventually arrived at Ezeiza Airport at 3:43 PM after a journey of around 12 hours, with the match against Argentina scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM. This left them with only around five hours before kick-off, raising questions about their physical and tactical preparation.
On the pitch, the difference in preparation and squad quality was clear. Argentina scored five goals in the first half before going on to win 7-0. Lautaro Martínez, Gianluca Prestianni, Nico Paz, Julián Álvarez, Franco Mastantuono and Giuliano Simeone were among the scorers, while Burkina Faso also conceded an own goal.
The result has sparked significant debate in Argentina, with some media outlets questioning the value of the friendly given the circumstances under which Burkina Faso entered the match. Argentine media described the game as having turned into more of an embarrassment than a genuine test of friendly competition.
Meanwhile, Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni thanked Burkina Faso’s young players for travelling to Argentina and honouring their commitment to the match despite all the challenges they faced.
So, despite Argentina’s emphatic 7-0 victory, the circumstances surrounding the match have left one major question: Was the 7-0 scoreline a true reflection of Argentina’s quality, or was it largely influenced by a Burkina Faso side that arrived without adequate preparation?
