Another great display of attacking prowess was put in by Argentina on Saturday, October 3, 2026, as they thrashed Burkina Faso 7-0 in a friendly game played at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires during the initial break in between the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.
Argentina easily got the better of their opposition right from the start, with VAVEL referring to the game as being a matter of procedure due to the vast talent difference more than anything else, which is quite evident in front of a relatively thin crowd.
Lautaro Martínez got Argentina off to a flying start in the 4th minute when he scored from the penalty spot. Martínez had initially hit the woodwork but had the reaction speed to score from the rebound with his left foot. Only four minutes later, D. Bama put the ball in his own net to make it 2-0, and Argentina did not look back after that.
Argentina continued to dominate play and scored quickly during the early part of the game. Gianluca Prestianni ran onto a through ball inside the box before scoring from close range after 12 minutes to put the team up 3-0 while also scoring the first goal for the senior side in his career.
The lead kept on increasing for the Argentina side after a run by Nico Paz who scored the team’s fourth goal after 35 minutes of the game. Julián Alvarez scored their fifth goal one minute later, thereby ending the first half with a 5-goal advantage over Burkina Faso. It was at halftime when Burkina Faso’s weakened squad had not been able to do much to threaten Emiliano Martinez’s goal at the other end.
There was no indication of any waning in the dominance of Argentina after the break. Franco Mastantuono scored to put the score line at 6-0 after he completed the team effort of the team in the 57th minute.
The pass and move of the Argentineans displayed clearly the technical superiority of the team even as the game progressed. Lionel Scaloni was giving opportunities for other players to showcase their skills during the match. It is a common practice for coaches to field the other players in the teams as well in such lopsided matches.
The substitute player Giovanni Simeone scored in the 90+3 minute to give the finishing touch of 7-0 in favor of Argentina. It was a game in which the Argentineans had 18 shots on target while Burkina Faso had only one shot.
While the result was certainly noteworthy for its utter one-sidedness, there were other elements of the game that made it a much more emotionally laden affair. The game was played as part of the "farewell window" associated with Lionel Messi and his role as captain of the Argentina national team.
While Messi did not take part in this particular match and therefore was not a part of the result itself, the match became something of a reminder of Messi's long legacy with the Albiceleste.
As part of this legacy, three young attacking players—namely Nico Paz, Franco Mastantuono, and Gianluca Prestianni—scored their first goals in Argentina's colors. Thus, the game was as much a celebration of the farewell story developing around Messi as it was a match itself.
Statistics of the game clearly demonstrated how one-sided it was. While Burkina Faso's goalkeeper, Razak Guira, was facing 18 shots at his goal, conceding seven, Emiliano Martínez conceded zero despite facing only a single shot on target from his opponent.
The bookmakers had predicted the anticipated disparity before the game began, putting Argentina as favorites with odds of -550 on the moneyline, while the outcome of the game did not seem to indicate any error in the betting line.
The formation of Burkina Faso, reported to consist largely of young players due to logistical issues with getting the squad into shape prior to this game, was ineffective in dealing with Argentina's mobility and pressure play through the match and hardly posed any threat in retaliation.
