Five-Star Egypt start Maher tenure with emphatic win in Salah historic night, Mali comeback and Morocco win easily

Newly appointed coach Ali Maher started his Egypt tenure with a resounding 5-0 over Malawi in Cairo, with Mohamed Salah having a historic night becoming Egypt all-time top scorer, while Mali came back from behind twice to beat Rwanda 3-2, and Morocco eased past Niger in matchday 3 of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations – Pamoja 2027 qualifiers on Friday.

Salah historic night in Egypt’s five-star performance

At Cairo International Stadium, Egypt kicked off their new era under coach Ali Maher, with a commanding 5-0 win over visiting Malawi. In a night that proved historic for superstar and captain Mohamed Salah, who scored a brace that meant he moved to 70 international goals to be Egypt’s all-time top scorer, surpassing the previous record held by former captain and coach Hossam Hassan.

It took the Pharaohs only six minutes to break the deadlock via Nasser Maher who scored his first international goal, connecting to Mohamed Hany cross from the right side.

Five minutes later, Omar Marmoush doubled Egypt’s lead after capitalizing on a misplaced back-pass from the Malawian defence. And it was 3-0 before the break when Hany turned from assister to scorer and in a fantastic style. Mahmoud Trezeguet cross was cleared by the Malawian defense, only for Hany to strike a first-time shot from 25 meters out. The ball soared into the top-right corner of Chikooka’s goal with a spectacular strike.

Salah added Egypt’s fourth after 84 minutes, connecting to Ibrahim Adel cross with a close-range header. Four minutes into stoppage time, the referee awarded a penalty to Hamza Abdel Karim. Salah stepped up scoring the fifth goal—his 70th at the international level—to cap off the match with a record-breaking achievement, becoming the all-time leading goalscorer for the Pharaohs.

Egypt tops Group B with 7 points, while Malawi remains in third place with 3 points. The two sides are set to face each other again next Tuesday in Lilongwe. Meanwhile, Angola (4 points) will play against pointless South Sudan this Saturday in Luanda.

Mali come back twice to beat Rwanda

In Bamako, Mali came back from behind twice to beat Rwanda 3-2 in a thrilling Group K encounter at the 26 March Stadium.

Jojea Kwizera gave the visitors a shocking lead after 29 minutes, but for Kamory Doumbia to hand the hosts a deserved equalizer two minutes from the break.

Nine minutes into the second half, Phanuel Kavita restored Rwanda lead, but it wouldn’t last long as Moussa Yeo made it 2-2 after 63 minutes. Mamadou Camara completed “Les Aigles” comeback after 84 minutes to give Mali a vital win.

Mali went top of Group K on 9 points, three more than Rwanda before they lock horns again at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali this Tuesday.

Hakimi lead Morocco to continue perfect start

Meanwhile, Morocco continued their perfect start in Group A beating Niger 5-1 at Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca to top the group on 9 points with three wins in as many matches.

Yasser Zabiri gave the hosts the lead just 4 minutes on the clock, with skipper Achraf Hakimi making it 2-0 after 27 minutes as the Atlas Lions made their dominance count.

Niger pulled one back through Mohamed Abdouramane after 41 minutes and were about to have a famous equalizer on the brink of halftime when they were awarded a penalty. But Youssouf Oumarou attempt from the spot was stopped by Morocco’s goalkeeper and penalty saving expert Yassine Bounou.

The visitors received an immediate punishment when Hakimi completed his brace in first half injury time as Morocco went to the break 3-1 up.

Youssef En-Nesyri made it 4-1 after 77 minutes with a close-range effort from Hakimi’s assist. Ayoub Oufkir added a fifth for the Atlas Lions in the 90th minute to end a perfect night in Casablanca.

Morocco top Group A on 9 points, three more than Gabon. Niger (3 points) and Lesotho (0) follow in that order.