Timeless Messi eyes World Cup record as Argentina face Austria

The Lionel Messi show rolls into Dallas with the Argentine maestro on the cusp of more footballing history when the World Cup holders face Austria on Monday.
Messi, who turns 39 on Wednesday, scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria to pull level with Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup record of 16 goals.
The skipper broke down in tears after his first goal, and it later emerged that his father is recovering from an unspecified “health issue”.
Inter Miami attacker Messi had not even committed to playing the tournament in North America until the last moment.
But nobody realistically expected him to be absent from spearheading Argentina’s attempt to become the first team since ...