Argentina beat a youthful Burkina Faso 7-0 after travel chaos disrupted the visitors’ squad. Messi’s farewell match is set for Tuesday.
Argentina routed a youthful, makeshift Burkina Faso side 7-0 in an international friendly Saturday at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, a match overshadowed by travel chaos that left the visitors fielding a largely youth-team squad. Lionel Messi did not play, resting ahead of his official farewell appearance for Argentina against Benin on Tuesday.
Burkina Faso’s charter flight from Morocco was canceled days before the match due to technical problems, and several senior players declined to make the trip, citing fatigue, according to the Burkina Faso Football Federation. The replacement squad arrived in Buenos Aires just five hours before kickoff after a private flight from Morocco. Despite the circumstances, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni thanked the players who did make the journey. “I would like to sincerely thank those who have come from Burkina Faso,” Scaloni said after the match. “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.”
Messi arrived in Argentina on Friday and will join full training ahead of Tuesday’s match against Benin, ranked 93rd by FIFA, which the Argentine Football Association has confirmed as his official farewell appearance for the national team. The 39-year-old announced his international retirement following Argentina’s loss to Spain in the 2026 World Cup final, ending a 21-year international career in which he scored 125 goals in 207 caps. AS Roma announced that Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina, both members of Argentina’s 2022 World Cup-winning squad, will not attend the farewell match, without specifying a reason. Scaloni said Tuesday’s match against Benin would be “an unforgettable day for everyone.”
This report is based on information from ESPN, Yahoo Sports, Bolavip and Sportbible.