FRIENDLY: Argentina Thrash Burkina Faso 7-0 In Biggest-Ever Win Over African Opposition

Argentina routed Burkina Faso 7-0 on Saturday in an international friendly in Buenos Aires, recording their biggest-ever win against an African opponent.

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.

According to ESPN, 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.

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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.

Meanwhile, 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.

James Agberebi is a sports content creator and analyst with a passion for football and other sports. He writes sports news, match reports, and analysis to keep fans informed about the latest developments in the sporting world. James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men’s and women’s national teams. His experience covering Nigerian football gives him a good understanding of the game and the teams he writes about. Through his work with Complete Sports, James shares sports updates, match coverage, and analysis with readers in Nigeria and around the world.