Shock for Salah: Hossam Hassan remains Egypt's all-time top scorer by one goal

Mohamed Salah, captain of the Egypt national team, celebrated reaching 70 goals in the Pharaohs' jersey, after the official account of the Egyptian Football Association marked this achievement. However, the records of FIFA revealed an unexpected surprise for the Egyptian star, showing that his tally is only counted at 68 goals, leaving Hossam Hassan at the top of the all-time scoring list for the national team.

This contrast came after Mohamed Salah scored two goals during Egypt's emphatic victory over Malawi, winning 5-0 at the Cairo International Stadium, in the third round of the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027, in the first appearance of new coach Ali Maher.

The dispute over the number of goals scored by the Pharaohs' captain dates back to a Friendly match between the Egyptian national team and Eswatini on March 22, 2013, which ended with Egypt winning 10-0, under the management of American coach Bob Bradley.

During that match, Mohamed Salah scored two goals in the 12th and 44th minutes, but the goals were not counted towards his official international tally, as the statistics records excluded the match from the category of approved international 'A' matches due to not meeting the criteria governing this type of match.

According to reports, the exclusion of the match is linked to the Egyptian national team's coaching staff making 11 substitutions during the game, which exceeded the allowed number according to the rules in place at the time, leading to Mohamed Salah's brace being omitted from his official international tally.

Thus, Mohamed Salah's tally according to FIFA's ranking stands at 68 goals, compared to 69 goals for Hossam Hassan. The national team captain needs to score one goal to equal the record and two goals to surpass it and take the lead in the all-time top scorers for the Pharaohs.

Mohamed Salah has a new opportunity to increase his tally during Egypt's match against Malawi, scheduled for Tuesday, in the fourth round of the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027, at the 'Bingu National Stadium' in Malawi.

Mohamed Salah aims to use the match to close the gap with Hossam Hassan and approach the record according to official international statistics, while the Egyptian national team looks to continue its winning streak and maintain its lead at the top of Group B, having increased its tally to 7 points after a five-goal victory in the last round.