2026 WCQ: Salah leads Egypt past Ethiopia

The Egypt national team secured a 2-0 victory over Ethiopia on Friday in Casablanca, Morocco in the fifth round of action from Group A in the African zone of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

The Pharaohs fielded their strongest lineup, including Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, Manchester City winger Omar Marmoush as well as Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ahmed Zizo and Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy.

Head coach Hossam Hassan made a tactical decision by deploying winger Trezeguet as a left-back. The move paid off, as the player came close to scoring on multiple occasions and contributed to the attack.

Egypt had goal-scoring chances throughout but Ethiopia goalkeeper Abubaker Nuri of Ethiopian top flight leaders Ethiopian Insurance produced several strong saves on his national team debut. Despite Nuri's efforts, the Pharaohs wrapped up the win in the first half, scoring twice through Mohamed Salah and Ahmed Zizo.

Salah was the standout effective performer of the game, scoring once and assisting another. In the 31st minute, he received a pass from Hamdi Fathi, found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and slotted the ball into the net.

With this goal, Salah became the top scorer of the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup so far, increasing his tally to six goals.

Nine minutes later, Salah turned provider, setting up Ahmed Zizo who finished from inside the penalty area and doubled Egypt’s lead in the 40th minute.

With this result, Egypt solidified its position at the top of Group A with 13 points, ahead of Burkina Faso who sits in second place with eight points, while Sierra Leone is third on goal difference, also with eight points.

Group A Table (5 matches played)

• The group winner qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

• Four of the nine runners-up qualify for a playoff to determine Africa's representative at the intercontinental qualifying playoff.