Mohamed Salah has become Egypt’s all-time leading international goal scorer, surpassing the previous record held by Hossam Hassan. According to Khaleej Times, Salah scored two late goals in Cairo to bring his international tally to 70. The victory over Malawi, which ended 5-0, marked the beginning of new coach Ali Maher’s tenure and placed Egypt at the top of Group B in the qualifying campaign.
In a contrasting result for the region, Tunisia suffered a 2-0 defeat against Libya in Sfax. This loss continued a difficult period for the Tunisian national team, which was the only African nation from the recent World Cup to exit in the group stage. Following that early exit, Tunisia dismissed coach Sabri Lamouchi. Their current coach, Mouin Chaabani, faces pressure after this home loss, which leaves the team with only two points at the halfway stage of Group H. The defeat puts their record streak of 17 consecutive appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations finals at risk.
Other notable results in the qualifiers included Cape Verde and Nigeria. Cape Verde, who reached the second round of the World Cup, recovered from an opening loss to defeat Liberia 4-2 at home. Derensili Sanches Fernandes, playing for Huddersfield Town, was among the scorers. Nigeria also bounced back from a previous 3-0 loss to Guinea-Bissau, winning 3-1 against Tanzania with two goals from striker Tolu Arokodare.
Several other matches saw dramatic finishes. In Group I, Burundi secured a 1-1 draw away to Zambia thanks to a late goal by Jean Girumugisha. In Group D, Kenya held South Africa to a 2-2 draw in Johannesburg after Ryan Ogam scored in the 90th minute. Mali came from behind to beat Rwanda 3-2 in Bamako, with Mamadou Camara scoring the winner. In Group A, Morocco maintained their perfect start by defeating Niger 5-1 in Casablanca, with Achraf Hakimi scoring twice.
The third round of group qualifiers has now reached its halfway mark. Khaleej Times reports that three more matches will take place on Saturday to complete this round. The fourth round of fixtures is scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, with the final two rounds occurring in March. The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals will be co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda from June 19 to July 17.