The Argentina national team will play an international friendly against Burkina Faso this Friday, October 4th, at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. The match, scheduled for the October FIFA window, serves as preparation for the ongoing World Cup qualifying campaign.
La Albiceleste enter the fixture on the back of a commanding 4-0 win over Bolivia in qualifying, a result that keeps them top of their group with a perfect nine points from three games. Lionel Messi, with eight goals in eight appearances this season, remains the team's leading scorer.
Match details
Kick-off is set for 20:30 local time, with live broadcast coverage on free-to-air television and streaming platforms. Head coach Lionel Scaloni is expected to use the friendly to assess options and provide minutes to players vying for a more permanent role. The African side, known as Les Étalons, will offer a physically robust test for an Argentine defence that has conceded just once in the qualifying phase so far.
Preparation context
This friendly falls within the October international window, the last before South American qualifiers resume next month. Scaloni has named a broad squad, blending established stars with emerging talent to build depth for the final push towards the World Cup. The victory over Bolivia, with goals from Lautaro Martínez, Nicolás Paz, Cristian Romero and Joaquín López, highlighted the team's attacking potency even with rotated personnel.
The team's upcoming schedule, available on our fixtures page, continues with official qualifiers in November. Meanwhile, the standings show a five-point lead over Austria, their closest challenger in the World Cup group stage. The clash with Burkina Faso presents another chance to fine-tune details ahead of the decisive challenges to come.
The original report is at La Nacion AR Deportes
The friendly against Burkina Faso will be broadcast live by TyC Sports, the channel confirmed. The signal will be available via cable through operators like Telecentro, Flow, TeleRed, or DirecTV, and via streaming on the TyC Sports Play app. Argentina enters the match on a run of four wins in their last five games, according to verified data as of October 3rd.
Argentina will face Burkina Faso this Saturday, October 3rd at 21:00, not Friday, the organizer confirmed. Lionel Scaloni will lead the team without Lionel Messi, who will not be present. The coach emphasized the importance of maintaining a playing identity "regardless of the names that make up the team." Argentina enters the match on a run of four wins in their last five games, according to verified data as of October 3rd.
Update, 2026-10-04: Argentina thrashed Burkina Faso 7-0 at the Monumental, according to verified data. Lautaro Martínez, Gianluca Prestianni, Nico Paz, Julián Álvarez, Franco Mastantuono, and Giuliano Simeone scored for the Albiceleste, who are now on a two-game winning run. Manager Lionel Scaloni used the match to give minutes to new talents, in a game where the African opponent fielded a last-minute U-23 team.
