3.54amGOAL! Messi creates World Cup historyBy He’s done it. Lionel Messi is now the all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup after opening the scoring against Austria. And it was a brilliant finish from Argentina’s number 10. Facundo Medina cuts the ball back, and Messi hits it first time, hard and low, into the bottom corner.Messi earlier missed his first chance at the record when he pushed a 7th-minute penalty kick wide. He now has 17 goals at World Cups, overtaking Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16.Argentina 1 - Austria 0, 38th minuteArgentina’s Lionel Messi, right, celebrates scoring his side’s opening goal.AP Photo/Jessica Tobias3.29amMerlin the duck meet’s Mexico’s presidentBy He’s already one of the emerging faces of the tournament - and Merlin the duck’s 15 minutes of fame are not up yet.The pet duck in a mini Mexico shirt who has become a viral sensation and an unofficial mascot of the World Cup has now met Mexico’s president on Monday.The duck waddled on to the stage at the start of Claudia Sheinbaum’s regular morning press conference, took a seat where ministers and officials are usually seen, and, unfazed by the occasion, let out a few quacks.“We feel very honoured to be here with the president; it is an honour for us to stand before you and for the whole world to see the beautiful side of Mexico,” said Karla Gomez, Merlin’s owner.Merlin’s fame was ignited during street celebrations after the co-hosts beat South Africa 2-0 in the opening game on June 11, when the costumed duck was seen wandering among the crowd on the capital’s bustling Reforma avenue. Since then, Merlin has become one of the stars of the World Cup.Merlin the duck, dressed in a Mexican national soccer team jersey, bottom right, enters the daily press conference by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, top right, with his caretakers, brothers Carlos and Christian Gomez, and their mother Carla.AP Photo/Marco UgarteMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum interacts with Merlin the duck.AP Photo/Marco Ugarte3.22amMessi misses his first chance to create historyBy Messi misses! We are only seven minutes into this match, and Argentina has an early penalty given after Lautaro Martinez is brought down in the box by Austrian defender Xaver Schlanger.The game was initially allowed to continue, but VAR intervened, and the referee went over to the screen and awarded the spot kick. Messi steps up, hits it with his side foot and pushes wide a chance that would have seen him become the all-time World Cup goal scorer. For now, he remained tied with Germany’s Miroslav Klose on 16. Argentina 0 - Austria 0, 7th minute.Lionel Messi misses an early chance against Austria. AP Photo/Julio Cortez3.13amWelcome to our live coverage for todayBy Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 2026 World Cup, where we will again see superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland all in action on the same day.First up, it is Messi’s Argentina who play Austria in Dallas. Coming off a hat trick against Algeria, the 38-year-old will be chasing the opportunity to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer, and a win would also put his side through to the knockout stages.France v Iraq will follow that match at 7am, Norway against Senegal at 10am and then Jordan plays Algeria at 1pm.Last week, Messi, Mbappe and Haaland scored seven goals them across three stadiums in one glorious day of World Cup football. Will we get the same day? One can hope.1 of 1