Liverpool forward Mohammed Salah was a master at work as Egypt secured a crucial 2-0 win over Malawi in Group D of the AFCON qualification on Friday night.
The Pharaohs were a tad too good for the Flames of Malawi at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo. The visiting side left the arena without a single shot on target compared to Egypt’s eight.
And as expected, Salah was the star of the show as he was directly involved in both goals.
The hosts went in front when Salah calmly slotted in his shot past Charles Thom following an exchange of passes with Mohamed Hamdi. That was a landmark strike for the captain, who registered his 50th senior career goal for Egypt.
Omar Marmoush then notched in a second goal for the 2022 AFCON finalists via a kind deflection right on the stroke of the interval. It was three valuable points in the bag for Egypt and a historic night for Salah.
He became just the seventh African player to score half a century of goals while representing their national teams.
Bolanews takes a look at the six African legends that fall into the exclusive list of fifty-goal heroes.
6. ASAMOAH GYAN: 51 goals (Ghana)
The former Ghanaian international had a knack for scoring important goals in the Black Stars shirt throughout the years. He retired from the national team in 2019 having scored 51 goals, earned 109 caps, and broken numerous records. He is one of only four players to have scored at six different Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, alongside Kalusha Bwalya, Samuel Eto’o, and Andre Ayew.
5. SAMUEL ETO’O: 56 goals (Cameroon)
Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, Eto’o has really left his mark on the continent. 18 of his 56 goals for the Indomitable Lions came in the African Cup of Nations. That tally was enough for him to remain the all-time top scorer of the competition to this day. Eto’o also has two AFCON titles to his name.
4. DIDIER DROGBA: 65 goals (Ivory Coast)
No African player has scored more goals for his national team this century than Didier Drogba. The Ivorian legend netted an impressive 65 goals in only 105 appearances for the Elephants. His return of 18 goals in FIFA World Cup qualification is only matched by Samuel Eto’o in Africa. Despite his highly decorated career, Didier Drogba did not win the AFCON title, coming closest in the 2012 final against Zambia.
3. HOSSAM HASSAN: 68 goals (Egypt)
Well, Mohamed Salah is not the first Egyptian player to score 50 national team goals. That title belongs to Hossam Hassan, who represented the Pharaohs from 1985 to 2006. Hassan scored 68 international goals, with 11 of them coming in the Africa Cup of Nations. The striker had won the AFCON title on three occasions while donning the Pharaohs’ kit.
2. KINNAH PHIRI: 71 goals (Malawi)
Mo Salah’s 50th international goal came against Malawi, a country that itself has had a player go way past that number. Malawian icon Kinnah Phiri recorded an astounding 71 goals in only 117 games for the Flames. In 1981, Phiri became just the second African player to score 70 international goals in a 4-1 win against Tanzania.
1. GODFREY CHITALU: 79 goals (Zambia)
From Malawi, we move just a couple of miles west to Zambia, where we unveil the greatest international goalscorer of the African continent. Godfrey Ucar Chitalu was the most prolific African national team top scorer in history, scoring 79 goals in 111 caps for the Chipolopolo.
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His number even beats the tally of 77 international goals managed by the great Brazilian idol, Pele.
It’s difficult to see any Zambian player or indeed any African matching Chitalu’s record anytime soon.
