Preview: Argentina vs. Burkina Faso - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off dispatching Bolivia with ease, Argentina welcome Burkina Faso to Estadio Mas Monumental for another friendly match on Saturday night (Sunday morning UK) in the penultimate game before Lionel Messi’s curtain call.

While Lionel Scaloni has indicated that Messi is welcome to participate in the match, it remains to be seen whether the Inter Miami captain plays any role before the encounter against Benin next week.

Match preview

There was anticipation in Argentina ahead of their clash with Bolivia, as many were eager to see how the Albiceleste responded in their first match back since the 2026 World Cup final loss to Spain.

Given the woeful form of their opponents leading into the match, however, La Seleccion were favoured to secure a comfortable victory, and so it turned out.

Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring before Nico Paz and captain Cristian Romero added the second and third goals before the hour mark; Jose Manuel Lopez netted a fourth in the game’s closing stages, further embellishing the straightforward success.

This victory continued Argentina’s winning streak in international friendly matches, reaching back to a 2-2 draw with Uruguay in 2019, and Wednesday night’s success marked the National Team’s 20th such triumph.

They enter their next fixture aiming for a 21st consecutive friendly victory, as they look to carry that momentum into Messi’s 208th and final appearance for the 2022 world champions.

Burkina Faso are expected to present a tougher challenge for the Albiceleste, given their superior form compared to Bolivia, who had lost four matches on the trot without scoring prior to their latest defeat to Argentina.

Amir Abdou’s teams are also notably aggressive out of possession, although it remains uncertain how much of that pressing style will be visible in Buenos Aires on Saturday night.

At least they head into a historic first meeting against Argentina with positive outcomes in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, having drawn against Benin and then defeating the Central African Republic 1-0 to finish September.

These results position the Stallions second in Group F of their AFCON 2027 qualifying section, behind Benin, but still in a top two position that guarantees participation in next year’s finals as it stands.

Facing Argentina, however, poses a significantly greater challenge for Les Etalons, who have never qualified for a World Cup and possess limited experience competing against the elite of world football, especially away from home.

Argentina International Friendlies form:

Argentina form (all competitions):

Burkina Faso International Friendlies form:

Burkina Faso form (all competitions):

Team News

Although the door has been opened for Messi to play on Saturday night, it remains uncertain whether the nation’s greatest player will take part in any manner before the match against Benin.

Martinez came off with a suspected injury during the encounter with Bolivia, making the Inter Milan captain doubtful for this weekend, thus giving Lopez an opportunity to start up front alongside Julian Alvarez.

After giving debuts to Roman Vega, Valentin Gomez, Ezequiel Fernandez, Santiago Simon and Leonel Flores against Bolivia, Matias Soule, Santiago Castro and Tomas Palacios will hope to earn their first international cap for La Seleccion.

Likely to feature again, however, is Paz, who scored and assisted in the rout of Argentina’s midweek opponents, as the Como star aims to shine in Buenos Aires.

For the visiting side, the Stallions have seemingly emerged from both AFCON qualifiers unscathed, with Edmond Tapsoba recovering from the injury sustained against Benin to feature against the CAR last time out.

However, Abdou remains concerned about the fitness of Dango Ouattara, with the Brentford wide attacker missing both qualifying fixtures because of illness.

If the 12-goal Ouattara is unavailable, then the Stallions will likely depend on Lassina Traore to convert chances, with no player coming close to the Shakhtar Donetsk forward’s 14 international goals in 33 appearances, effectively averaging one every two matches.

As they head towards Saturday, Abdou may hand debuts to Julien Bationo, Mamoutou Ouedraogo and Ismael Maiga, having seen Aboubacar Camara reward his faith by scoring a match-winner against the CAR on his debut last time out.

Argentina possible starting lineup:

E. Martinez; Giay, Romero, L. Martinez, Vega; Paz, Palacios, Equi, Prestianni; Alvarez, Lopez

Burkina Faso possible starting lineup:

Koffi; Kabore, Djiga, E. Tapsoba, Kouassi; A. Tapsoba, Doucet, Ouedraogo; Bouda, Traore, Zagre

We say: Argentina 3-1 Burkina Faso

Although Burkina Faso arrive in Buenos Aires with commendable defensive discipline and solid AFCON qualifying form, overcoming the former world champions at the Monumental represents a markedly different calibre of challenge.

As such, Scaloni’s confident side should have far too much attacking quality to falter and should comfortably secure their 21st consecutive friendly victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.