Mohamed Salah has made history as he is now the top scorer ever for the Egypt National Team with 70 goals.

The milestone crowns a remarkable international career that has spanned more than a decade, during which Salah has grown from a promising young winger into the face of Egyptian football and one of the most recognisable players in world football.

The Liverpool star reached the milestone on Friday after scoring twice in Egypt’s 5-0 thrashing of Malawi in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Cairo. The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, with thousands of fans rising to their feet as Salah stepped up to take the late penalty that would write his name into the history books.

Salah left it late to overtake former captain Hossam Hassan. He scored with a far post header in the 84th minute to draw level, before converting a penalty five minutes into added time to seal the record.

The header showed his sharp movement and timing in the box, while the penalty showed his calmness under pressure at a moment when the whole nation was watching.

The brace took Salah past Hassan, who finished his international career with 69 goals. It also moved Salah into third place on the list of Africa’s highest men’s international goalscorers. He is now closing in on Malawi great Kinnah Phiri and Zambia legend Godfrey Chitalu, whose record of 79 goals has stood for decades.

Egypt were already in control before Salah’s late double. Goals from Nasser Maher, Omar Marmoush and Mohamed Hany had given the Pharaohs a 3-0 lead by half time. The early goals allowed Egypt to dominate possession, control the tempo of the game and create chance after chance, leaving Malawi with little hope of a comeback.

The win took Egypt to seven points in Group B after three matches, three more than Angola, who host South Sudan on Saturday. The result puts the Pharaohs in a strong position to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations and keeps their unbeaten run in the qualifiers firmly on track.

Salah, 34, celebrated the landmark wearing a Pharaoh’s headdress after the game. He was hailed online as a legend, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano leading the tributes. Fans, former players and teammates also flooded social media with messages of congratulations, praising his consistency, leadership and loyalty to the national team.

The record cements Salah’s place as one of the greatest players in Egypt’s history and one of the finest African footballers of all time. With more qualifiers and tournaments still ahead of him, Salah now has the chance to stretch the record even further and leave a mark that may stand for generations.