Egypt 5-0 Malawi: Salah claims the scoring record as the Ali Maher era opens with a rout

Nasser Maher’s touch, Mohamed Hany’s thunderbolt and a late double from the captain give Cairo a night for the record books

By Dr. Talal Othman | General Manager, GCC Sport

Cairo, 13 November 2026

A new manager could not script a kinder first night. Egypt needed 10 minutes to settle this Africa Cup of Nations qualifier and 90 to suggest that Ali Maher, in his first match since replacing Hossam Hassan, has a different team in mind: quicker in the pass, braver in the spaces, less reliant on one man.

The opening goal carried the whole idea. Trezeguet found Mohamed Salah, Salah released Mohamed Hany on the right, and the low cross was swept in first time by Nasser Maher in the sixth minute. It was his first international goal, scored after two years out of the squad, and it read like a carefully worded reply to everyone who had written him off.

Malawi had no time to breathe. Four minutes later Zizo slipped a clever pass to Omar Marmoush, who drove low into the far corner, a finish that takes him to the top of the qualifying scoring chart. Egypt then owned the ball and the tempo, with close to 70% of possession, and left the visitors to shoot from distance and collect corners that led nowhere.

Then came the moment that will outlive the scoreline. In the 38th minute Hany struck a ferocious shot from outside the area into the net, his own first goal for his country, and the stadium erupted. Calls for a Puskás nomination followed within minutes. A full-back who made the first and scored the third: that was the first half in one line.

The second period was slower, much of it played in midfield. But Salah does not leave a night like this unsigned. The goalkeeper denied him once when he ran clear. Then, in the 84th minute, the substitute Ibrahim Adel delivered a precise cross and the captain headed it in, drawing level with Hassan’s national record. Deep in added time another substitute, Hamza Abdelkarim, won a penalty. Salah chipped it down the middle, Panenka style, with the calm of a man who knew the weight of the kick: 70 goals, and the record is his alone.

There was an irony nobody in the ground could miss. A mark that stood for decades fell in the first match after its owner left the dugout. Yet the numbers that matter most are simpler. Egypt have seven points from three games, and four different players scored. The real examination comes on Tuesday at the Bingu National Stadium, where the same opponents wait on their own turf. Five-goal wins write the headlines; qualification is settled away from home.

Match facts

  • Competition: Africa Cup of Nations 2027 qualifying, Group B, round 3
  • Venue: Cairo International Stadium
  • Goals: Nasser Maher 6, Omar Marmoush 10, Mohamed Hany 38, Mohamed Salah 84, 90+5 (pen)
  • Egypt (4-3-3): Mostafa Shobeir; Mohamed Hany, Rami Rabia, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Ahmed Fatouh; Mohanad Lasheen, Zizo, Nasser Maher; Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Trezeguet
  • Substitutes used include: Ibrahim Adel, Hamza Abdelkarim
  • Booked: Hossam Abdelmaguid 24
  • Man of the match: Mohamed Hany
  • Next: Malawi v Egypt, Tuesday 17 November, Bingu National Stadium