World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Salah two goals away from a historic record!

Mohamed Salah, star of the Egyptian national team and Liverpool FC, is now just two goals away from matching the record for the top scorer in the history of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

This Friday, March 21, at the Arabi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco, during the match against Ethiopia on the fifth day of Group 1 of the African qualifiers, the Egyptian captain hopes to rediscover his goal-scoring instinct with the Pharaohs and achieve another historic feat to add to his national team accolades.

Two goals separate Salah from a historic achievement!

Salah needs to score just two goals to equal the record of 18 goals, a record shared by four great African stars: Ivorian Didier Drogba, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o, Algerian Islam Slimani, and Burkinabe Moumouni Dagano.

To date, Mohamed Salah has scored 16 goals during his African World Cup qualifying campaign, which places him fifth in the all-time top scorers' list of African qualifiers.

According to the global site "Transfermarkt", here is the ranking of the top historical scorers in the African World Cup qualifiers:

1. Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) – 18 goals
2. Islam Slimani (Algeria) – 18 goals
3. Moumouni Dagano (Burkina Faso) – 18 goals
4. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon) – 18 goals
5. Mohamed Salah (Egypt) – 16 goals
6. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) – 16 goals
7. Dennis Oliech (Kenya) – 15 goals
   
   

Read also: Ethiopia - Egypt: date, time and TV channel for the match (2026 World Cup Qualifiers)!

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.