The Burkinabe Football Federation announced that its country's national team was stranded on Friday evening in the Moroccan city of Casablanca due to the lack of transportation, on the eve of an international friendly match that it was supposed to play against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
The "Horses" team remained in the Moroccan economic capital after defeating the Central African Republic 1-0 on Monday in the 2027 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
He was then scheduled to head to Buenos Aires, but “the national team’s travel was subject to disruption following the cancellation of the flight originally scheduled for September 30 (Wednesday) by the party leasing the plane without prior notice,” according to what the federation said in a statement.
The federation added, "Various options were studied to reorganize a new departure date, but restrictions related, especially to the duration of travel, raised reservations among the players," without providing further details or being able to confirm whether the team will be able to reach Argentina in time.
The match is scheduled to start on Saturday at 21:00 local time (02:00 am on Sunday, Paris time).
This match would have been the second in a series of three friendly matches for Argentina, after its victory over Bolivia 4-0 on Wednesday evening in Cordoba, and before the expected date against Benin next Tuesday at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, which will give the Argentine fans an opportunity to bid farewell to their legend, Lionel Messi.
England coach Thomas Tuchel said before facing Croatia in the European Nations League on Saturday that Manchester City's conviction for violations of the English Premier League's financial regulations has become a major topic of discussion within the England national team camp.
The England national team includes midfielder Elliot Anderson and centre-back Mark Jehi from City, while left-back Nico O'Reilly has returned to the club due to injury.
In response to a question about whether the players were discussing the decision and whether he had spoken with City players, Tuchel said: “I think so. We had some time off between matches, which is a big and prominent issue. Everyone is talking about this, so no other voice is needed. I'm glad I'm not that voice. No one needs my limited knowledge on this subject. Of course the players talk about it. City players are talking about him. We talk to them, but very briefly. "They are ready for tomorrow's match, but of course it is a major topic in the camp."
Tuchel was also asked if he would continue to select City players for the national team squad if the club were relegated from the Premier League, and the German coach said: “There is always a possibility. I will always try to choose the best lineup for the camp, event and tournament. I would never rule it out just because they don't play in the top flight in their country. We have to evaluate each case individually.”
Tuchel said, “Having three break days made a big difference for us, which allowed us to take care of the players who made a great effort, like Anderson and Gordon, for example.” Everyone trained today except O'Reilly, who had to leave the camp to receive treatment and leave as quickly as possible. His discomfort was so painful that he could not be on the field. As for the rest of the players, they started and finished today’s training at a high level.”
The Belgian national team defeated its Turkish guest 3-0, on Friday, in the third round of Group A in the first level of the European Nations League.
The Belgian team raised its score to six points to occupy second place in the group, one point behind the leading French team.
The Belgian team had won the first match of the group at the expense of Italy 2-0, but the team lost in the last minutes to France with a clean goal in the second round.
On the other hand, the Turkish national team is at the bottom of the group without any points after suffering its third defeat in a row.
The Turkish team lost to France with a clean goal and then to Italy by four goals to one in the first and second rounds, respectively.
The Belgian national team took the lead through Kevin De Bruyne in the tenth minute, then the same player added the second goal in the 60th minute.
In the 75th minute, Romelu Lukaku scored the third goal for the Belgian national team.
In the next round, the Belgium national team will meet its host, France, next Monday, which is the same day that the Turkish national team will be a guest of Italy in the fourth round.
