Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised Burkina Faso for completing their international friendly in Buenos Aires despite severe travel disruption that left the Stallions arriving only hours before their 7-0 defeat.
Argentina secured a comfortable victory over the West African side on Sunday, but Scaloni chose to recognise the efforts made by Burkina Faso to make the match possible despite the difficulties surrounding their preparations.
“I would like to thank Burkina Faso and those who came for the effort they have made. They are doing football proud. We are grateful for the effort they made to be able to come. They could have stayed home and the match would have been suspended. What they did is truly admirable.”
Burkina Faso’s preparations for the fixture had been severely affected by a series of logistical problems after a charter flight from Morocco was cancelled.
The disruption resulted in senior players refusing to travel because of concerns over financial compensation and the level of fatigue associated with the difficult journey.
Head coach Amir Abdou was subsequently forced to assemble an emergency squad, with the team made up largely of Under-23 players.
The young players accepted the call-up at short notice to ensure Burkina Faso could still fulfil the fixture against the world champions.
They eventually arrived in Buenos Aires just five hours before kick-off at the Monumental Stadium, leaving the team with very little time to prepare for a match against Argentina.
Despite the circumstances, Burkina Faso went ahead with the fixture and completed the match against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, who recorded a convincing 7-0 victory.
Scaloni’s comments after the game focused on the effort required from the Burkinabe delegation to reach Argentina and participate in the friendly.
The Argentina coach also highlighted the contribution of his own younger players during the international break.
“Overall, we achieved our objective. All the young players bring a fresh perspective; they want to be here.”
Argentina’s victory also gave them a second consecutive clean-sheet win during the international break.
For Burkina Faso, the trip to South America ended in a heavy defeat, but the circumstances surrounding the match meant the result was only one part of the wider situation facing the Stallions.
The Burkinabe side had been dealing with travel problems, changes to their squad and concerns involving senior players before arriving in Argentina.
The cancelled charter flight from Morocco created the initial disruption, while disagreements over financial compensation and concerns about fatigue contributed to the decision by senior players not to make the trip.
Those developments left Abdou with little choice but to rely heavily on younger players to represent the country against the reigning world champions.
The Burkina Faso Football Federation now faces administrative work to address the logistical problems and financial disputes involving members of the senior squad.
The federation is also looking to stabilise the organisation of the national team ahead of future international windows.
For the players who travelled to Buenos Aires, the match provided an opportunity to represent Burkina Faso despite the difficult circumstances.
They ultimately faced one of the strongest teams in international football with a squad assembled at short notice and little preparation time.
Argentina, meanwhile, completed their second fixture of the international break with another clean-sheet victory.
