Mohamed Salah has become Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer after reaching 70 international goals, surpassing former captain Hossam Hassan’s long-standing record of 69.
The Egyptian captain achieved the historic milestone on Friday, November 13, 2026, scoring twice in Egypt’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Malawi in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at Cairo International Stadium.
Salah, 34, scored Egypt’s fourth goal in the 83rd minute with a close-range header after connecting with Ibrahim Adel’s delivery before completing his brace from the penalty spot in the 90+4th minute.
The penalty, converted with a Panenka finish, brought his international tally to 70 and placed him ahead of Hassan, who previously held the national team’s goalscoring record with 69.
The achievement also moves Salah into second place on Egypt’s appearance-based scoring charts among its most celebrated footballers and third among Africa’s highest-scoring men’s international players, based on the commonly cited 70-goal statistical count.
Only Zambia legend Godfrey Chitalu, with 79 goals, and Malawi great Kinnah Phiri, with 71, are ahead of the Egyptian forward.
AFRICA’S TOP FIVE MEN’S INTERNATIONAL GOALSCORERS
1. Godfrey Chitalu – 79 goals
2. Kinnah Phiri – 71 goals
3. Mohamed Salah – 70 goals
4. Hossam Hassan – 69 goals
5. Didier Drogba – 65 goals
Salah’s achievement comes after more than a decade of service to the Egyptian national team, having made his senior international debut in 2011.
Interestingly, the record also carries an additional statistical dimension. FIFA-recognised records have previously credited Salah with 68 goals because two strikes from a 2013 friendly against Swaziland are excluded from its full international tally. The 70-goal figure is used in Egyptian records and several wider statistical accounts.
Nevertheless, Salah’s latest achievement further cements his position among the greatest footballers in Egyptian history and puts him just one goal away from matching Phiri’s second-place position on the commonly cited African men’s international scoring list.
The Egyptian King continues to rewrite history.