Egypt was out on Wednesday, as part of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Winners of Djibouti (0-3) at the end of a match counting for the ninth day of the Africa zone, the Pharaohs took the opportunity to definitively validate their ticket for the competition organized next summer by the United States, Canada and Mexico. For his part, Mohamed Salah made history.
Against Djibouti, the Egyptian star scored a double, enough to bring his total of goals scored in qualifying for a World Cup to twenty points. The Liverpool striker is now the highest African goalscorer in World Cup qualifying history. He is ahead of three players who until then jointly held the lead with him: Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o and Islam Slimani.
The former OM and his two associates, stuck at eighteen goals, therefore see Mohamed Salah leave them behind. And the latter could do even better and increase his record since Egypt still has a final qualifying match to play on October 12 against Guinea-Bissau (9 p.m.).
Mohamed Salah, alone in the lead
The Pharaohs managed to qualify for the fourth World Cup in their history. Salah, for his part, needed thirty-seven matches to reach this record of twenty goals. This is far fewer meetings than Eto'o, Drogba and Slimani needed to reach their total of eighteen.
Finally, note that Mohamed Salah is also the current top scorer in the Africa zone in these qualifications. The striker has nine goals and is ahead of the Gabonese, Denis Bouanga, as well as the Malian, Kamory Doumbia, both scorers on eight occasions. Ghanaian Jordan Ayew is fourth with seven goals.
