Mohamed Salah has become Egypt’s all-time leading international goalscorer, netting his 70th goal during a commanding 5-0 victory over Malawi in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, surpassing the previous record held by Hossam Hassan.
Cairo [Egypt], November 14 (ANI): Mohamed Salah became Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer after scoring twice in a commanding 5-0 victory over Malawi in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday (local time), reaching the landmark of 70 international goals with a cheeky Panenka penalty in stoppage time.
The 34-year-old forward, who currently plays for Turkish club Trabzonspor, initially equalled the national record held by former striker Hossam Hassan with a header in the 84th minute before taking his tally to 70 with a composed chip down the middle from the penalty spot, according to ESPN.
Salah, who made his international debut in 2011, has now scored 70 goals in 123 appearances for Egypt, establishing himself as the country’s most prolific goalscorer. Egypt made a flying start at Cairo International Stadium, taking the lead through Nasser Maher, who converted a low cross from Mohamed Hany for his first international goal. Omar Marmoush doubled the advantage in the 10th minute after capitalising on a defensive error from Malawi.
Egypt continued to dominate proceedings, with Hany making it 3-0 shortly before half-time through a spectacular long-range effort, also his first goal for the national team. Malawi had an opportunity to reduce the deficit midway through the first half, but goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir denied forward Richard Mbulu with a fine save.
Salah, who had missed a one-on-one opportunity in the 71st minute, eventually got on the scoresheet with a header from an Ibrahim Adel cross in the 84th minute. He then converted a penalty in added time after Malawi’s goalkeeper fouled Hamza Abdelkarim, completing the emphatic victory and claiming the national scoring record outright.
The result also marked a winning start for new Egypt head coach Ali Maher, who was appointed on November 7 following the departure of Hassan. Maher took charge of his first match with an attacking combination featuring Salah, Marmoush and Mahmoud Trezeguet. Salah’s record-breaking performance comes amid an impressive start to his club campaign at Trabzonspor, where he has scored nine goals in 11 league appearances. During his nine-year spell at Liverpool, the Egyptian became the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer with 191 goals and registered a record 277 goal contributions for a single club in the competition. Egypt will face Malawi again on Tuesday, with Salah now having established himself as the country’s outright leading international goalscorer. (ANI)