Buenos Aires, Oct 04 (V7N)- World champions Argentina produced another dominant performance, thrashing Burkina Faso 7-0 in an international friendly at the Estadio Monumental on Saturday.
Lautaro Martínez opened the scoring in the fourth minute after his initial penalty was saved by goalkeeper Razak Guira. The Argentine striker reacted quickly to score from the rebound and put the hosts ahead.
Argentina doubled their advantage four minutes later when Burkina Faso defender Moumouni Diallo inadvertently turned the ball into his own net while attempting to clear.
Gianluca Prestianni made it 3-0 in the 12th minute, finishing from Lautaro's pass as Argentina continued to overwhelm their opponents.
Nico Paz added a fourth in the 35th minute before Julián Álvarez struck just a minute later. Prestianni provided the assist as Argentina went into halftime with a commanding 5-0 lead.
After the break, Lionel Scaloni made several substitutions, but Argentina maintained control. Franco Mastantuono scored his first goal for the national team in the 57th minute after being set up by Lautaro.
Giuliano Simeone completed the rout in the third minute of stoppage time, heading home from close range to make it 7-0.
The match came amid logistical difficulties for Burkina Faso. Reports said the team that travelled to Buenos Aires was largely composed of under-23 players after senior players did not make the trip. The visitors arrived only hours before kickoff.
The victory followed Argentina's 4-0 win over Bolivia earlier in the international window, giving Scaloni's side 11 goals across their last two matches. Argentina will next face Benin at the Monumental on October 6 in a match expected to mark Lionel Messi's farewell appearance for the national team.
END/SMA/AJ
