Messi lands in Argentina, and the friendly before his farewell is in doubt

Lionel Messi is home. He landed in Rosario early on Friday, flew in overnight from Florida with his family, and will spend the coming days building up to his final Argentina match on Tuesday. 12

The friendly that leads into that week is in doubt. Burkina Faso's squad has been stuck in Morocco since its charter flight was cancelled, and Argentina's federation is waiting on opponents who are now due to arrive only hours before kick-off. 34

The club Messi bought this week had a better Friday: CD Eldense beat Real Oviedo 4-1, a day after his takeover was announced. 5

Messi flew overnight from Fort Lauderdale and touched down on Friday morning at Rosario's Islas Malvinas airport, in his hometown, about 300 kilometres north of Buenos Aires. He travelled with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo, their three sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, and his mother Celia. 12

He is not expected to train with the squad until the weekend. Argentina agreed before the window that he would play only the third game of the three, against Benin, and that match is his farewell: he will start, captain the side and wear the No. 10 in a special-edition shirt made for the night. 2 Coach Lionel Scaloni left the earlier game open anyway. Messi would join after Saturday's match, Scaloni said, "but if he wants to come and play on the 3rd, he can, no problem." 2

Messi arrives on a run: he has scored in four straight matches for Inter Miami, the last two from free kicks. 2

His successor as captain, Cristian "Cuti" Romero, said Messi had a hand in the choice. "He also chose me to be the captain of the national team, and for me that is a lovely responsibility," Romero said. "That he did it, along with the coach obviously, is something beautiful." He added one regret: "I told him I'm so sorry I never showed him all the love I always had for him. That is what I will regret." 6

Burkina Faso were due in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, after two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Morocco. Their charter flight was cancelled "without prior notice" by the airline, and as of Friday afternoon the squad was still in Casablanca. 34

The Burkinabé federation said its sports ministry, its president Oumarou Sawadogo and the country's ambassador to Morocco, Mamoudou Coulibaly, were all working to unblock the trip, and that the delay and the travel time had created "misgivings among the players." 3 Argentine outlet Olé reported that the squad had refused a long commercial flight and wanted a private charter, as Mauritania secured in March, and that a bonus dispute was also part of the stand-off. 4

Both federations still expect the game to be played. Argentine estimates put the delegation in Buenos Aires on Saturday afternoon — roughly eight hours before a 21:00 local kick-off on Saturday, which is Sunday 08:00 in Shanghai. 3

Argentina held their last session before the match at their Ezeiza base on Friday, starting with gym work and speed drills before full 11-on-11 football. 7 Without Messi, the side will be close to the one that beat Bolivia 4-0. TyC Sports expects a single change: Facundo Medina in for Román Vega at left-back. Enzo Fernández, back from the suspension he carried out of the World Cup final, comes into contention. 8

Likely Argentina XI: Emiliano Martínez; Agustín Giay, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Facundo Medina; Giuliano Simeone or Franco Mastantuono, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernández or Exequiel Palacios, Nicolás Paz or Gianluca Prestianni; Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez. Coach: Lionel Scaloni. 8

Likely Burkina Faso XI: Hervé Koffi; Issa Kaboré, Nasser Djiga, Edmond Tapsoba, Arsène Kouassi; Josué Doucet, Ismahila Ouédraogo; Abdoul Zagré, Ousseni Bouda, Abdoul Tapsoba, Lassina Traoré. Coach: Amir Abdou. 9

The Monumental, which hosted a Lali concert in the days before, is ready: River Plate say the pitch is "10 out of 10," helped by a fast clean-up and by covers being pulled before the rain. More rain is forecast for Friday night and Saturday morning, which could leave the surface soft. 10

The day after Messi's purchase of CD Eldense became official, the team produced its biggest win of the season. Real Oviedo, the club owned by Grupo Pachuca, scored after 20 seconds through Alberto Reina and led at half-time. Eldense turned it around after the break: Roberto López converted a penalty for a handball on 56 minutes, Fidel Chaves scored another from the spot on 66, and Olabarrieta and Rastrojo added two more in stoppage time. 511

It was Eldense's first home win of the season and their first under coach Javi Calleja, and it lifted them out of the relegation zone. 5

Messi is expected to join the squad at Ezeiza in the coming days, with the farewell programme — the special shirt, a plaque and a video tribute — still being finalised behind him. 2