BUENOS AIRES (AP) -- Argentina's passion for Lionel Messi has taken monumental form during the 2026 World Cup : A statue stands 26 meters tall in a remote town

JACK GAUGHAN IN KANSAS CITY: He was out in a rondo, Messi. Laughing with De Paul. Looking up to the heavens when, God forbid, fate dictated he was piggy in the middle.

June 22 : Twenty years after Lionel Messi first stepped onto a World Cup stage, Argentina are still being pulled along by the same irresistible force.The question before the…