Argentina and Mauritania go head-to-head in an international friendly on Friday, as the world champions continue their preparations on home soil at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires.
Argentina vs Mauritania – Match preview and team news
- Date: Friday, 27th March.
- Kick-off: 11:15pm BST.
- Venue: Estadio Alberto Jose Armando, Buenos Aires.
Argentina team news
The March international break has turned into a difficult spell for Argentina, starting with the controversy and eventual cancellation of the Finalissima against Spain and continuing with problems arranging friendly opponents in Buenos Aires.
Argentina revealed an initial 28-man squad for the March games on March 18, but since then head coach Lionel Scaloni has had to call up four extra players to deal with late problems in the group.
Right from the start, Lisandro Martínez, Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez were unavailable, and more absentees were confirmed as the days went by.
Leonardo Balerdi was also ruled out after picking up an injury in Olympique Marseille’s Ligue 1 match against Lille.
In response, Franco Mastantuono and Joaquín Panichelli were called up, while Balerdi’s setback opened the door for River Plate defender Lucas Martínez Quarta to join the squad. Agustín Giay was added after Gonzalo Montiel withdrew.
Still, Lionel Scaloni has a strong squad at his disposal. He has kept the core of his World Cup‑winning group together as Argentina gear up for the 2026 tournament.
Lionel Messi has been included and is expected to feature after managing his minutes in MLS with Inter Miami. Scaloni repeatedly stressed the captain will decide his own rhythm for the national team.
Mauritania team news
Four members of the Mauritania squad for this window are in line to make their senior international debuts. Among them are Rangers winger Djeidi Gassama and Angers defender Jordan Lefort from Ligue 1.
Midfielder Hacen, now 30, has a chance to climb to second on Mauritania’s all-time scoring list for the senior team, as he is currently level with Ismael Diakite on nine goals.
Form
Argentina
Argentina comes to this match on a three-match winning streak and has lost just once in its last 10 matches across all competitions. Their latest outing was a 2-0 win against Angola where Lionel Messi scored to take his total tally to 115 in international matches. He also registered an assist in that same match.
Mauritania
Mauritania are currently going through a difficult period as they are winless in their last five matches in all competitions with the most recent being a 0-2 loss against Kuwait in the Arab Cup Qualification.
They failed to qualify for the World Cup and also failed to progress any further from the group stages of the Africa Cup of Nations. Aritz Lopez’s men will certainly want to use this opportunity to play against an elite team and showcase a performance regardless.
Predicted lineups
Argentina: Martinez; Giay, Senesi, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Almada, Messi, Alvarez
Mauritania: Diop; Keita, Ba, Saleck, Abeid; Magassa, Fofana, Hacen; Koita, Diallo, Gassama
How to watch Argentina vs Mauritania?
The game isn’t on any TV channel in the UK. In the United States the match will be shown live on Fubo TV, Fanatiz, Sling, Prime Video USA, beIN SPORTS USA.
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