Argentina will host Burkina Faso this Saturday, October 3, at the Más Monumental stadium for a friendly match during the current international break.
This game will serve as the prelude to Lionel Messi’s final official match with the Argentina national team, scheduled for October 6 against Benin.
Argentina are coming off a convincing 4-0 victory over Bolivia in their most recent friendly on Wednesday, with goals from Lautaro Martínez, Nico Paz, Cristian Romero and José Manuel López.
Among the standout players was Román Vega, a 22-year-old defender called up by Argentina for the first time, who currently plays for Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian league.
Argentina vs. Burkina Faso: Team News & Starting Lineups
It has been confirmed for several days that Messi will not participate in this match, but in recent statements, coach Lionel Scaloni has not ruled out the possibility of him getting some minutes ahead of his final match, against Benin.
In the match against Bolivia, Lautaro Martínez left with a potential injury, so it is unclear whether he will start against Burkina Faso.
Meanwhile, Román Vega, Valentín Gómez, Ezequiel Fernández, Santiago Simón, and Leonel Flores already made their debuts in the previous match, while Matías Soulé, Santiago Castro, and Tomás Palacios could make their Argentina national team debuts against Burkina Faso.
As for the visiting side, Edmond Tapsoba was recovering from an injury he suffered against Benin in their last match and is a doubt for this matchup. In any case, he will likely get some minutes.
Dango Ouattara, the Brentford winger, also has injury concerns, so he may not play.
The player most likely to lead this match will be Lassina Traoré, the Shakhtar Donetsk striker, who already has 14 goals in 33 appearances for his national team.
Argentina’s CONFIRMED starting XI vs. Burkina Faso: EE. Martinez; Giay, Romero, L. Martinez, Medina; Mac Allister, Fernandez, Paz, Prestianni; Alvarez, Lautaro.
Burkina Faso’s predicted starting XI vs. Argentina: Koffi; Kabore, Djiga, E. Tapsoba, Kouassi; A. Tapsoba, Doucet, Ouedraogo; Bouda, Traore, Zagre.
Argentina vs. Burkina Faso: Teams Form & Latest Results
Argentina’s recent history is quite positive, not counting the 0-1 defeat against Spain at New York/New Jersey Stadium in the FIFA World Cup Final on July 19.
In their most recent match, La Albiceleste defeated Bolivia 4-0; before their defeat to Spain, Argentina defeated England 2-1 on July 15 in the World Cup semifinals.
They also defeated Switzerland 3-1 on July 11 and defeated Egypt 3-2 on July 7 in the Round of 16.
Burkina Faso’s current form is not as bright, logically, as Argentina’s. In their most recent match, they did record a 1-0 victory over the Central African Republic on September 28, but before that they drew 1-1 against Benin on September 25 in Round 1 of the Africa Cup of Nations Qualification Group F.
Before that, they also drew, but 2-2, against Belarus on June 9 in a friendly, and before that they lost 0-3 to Russia on June 5 in another friendly.
Before that match, they defeated Guinea-Bissau 5-0 in another friendly on March 28.
Argentina vs. Burkina Faso Lineup Today: Confirmed Team News & Starting XI