The Argentina‑Burkina friendly is still on, but the African side will arrive in Buenos Aires with its U23 squad just 3½ hours before kickoff.
Scheduled for the early hours of Sunday, the exhibition match will go ahead, though the circumstances are anything but ordinary.
Cancelled flights out of Morocco—where the team had been after a 1‑0 win over the Central African Republic in a CAN 2027 qualifier—left the senior squad stranded.
All but one player refused to board the hastily arranged flight, deeming the travel conditions unacceptable, and they received no financial incentive from the Argentine federation. In my view, the federation’s handling of the crisis was reckless.
A showdown set just as the team steps off the aircraft. Will the rushed arrival give Burkina a chance to surprise Argentina?
Because contractual obligations prevented canceling the senior match, the federation scrapped a U23 game against Mali and dispatched those youngsters to Argentina to fill the gaps.
The “Étalons bis,” whose Casablanca‑originating plane also left late, are expected to touch down around 15:30 local time, then face Argentina at 19:00 after a grueling 12‑hour flight and minimal preparation.
Argentina’s second friendly follows a 4‑0 triumph over Bolivia in Córdoba and precedes a farewell match against Benin on Tuesday at the Monumental, where Lionel Messi will bow out.