Egypt
\nMohamed Salah ended a three-game barren run for Egypt with four goals as they thrashed Djibouti 6-0 on Thursday, breaking yet another record in the process.
\nSalah failed to find the back of the net in each of his country\u2019s previous fixtures so far this season, misfiring against Tunisia, Zambia and Algeria.
\nBut with Liverpool\u2019s No. 11 in blistering form of late, there was no surprise as he struck four against lowly Djibouti in Egypt\u2019s first qualifier for the 2026 World Cup.
\nDjibouti, a nation on the Horn of Africa with a population of under a million, have only won twice before in 22 World Cup qualifiers since they began participating in 2000.
\nUp against one of the best players in world football, they were put to the sword with ease.
\nSalah\u2019s first goal came after 17 minutes, finishing from close range with his right foot, before converting a penalty after Omar Kamal was brought down five minutes later.
\nThe Egypt captain had a chance to make it a hat-trick before the break, but eventually did so three minutes after the restart.
\nHis fourth was the pick of the goals, touching down Ahmed Fotouh\u2019s clipped ball in the box and firing into the far bottom corner with his left on the turn.
\nHaving begun the day on 11 goals in World Cup qualifying, sitting third in Egypt\u2019s all-time list, Salah has now scored more than any other player.
\nSalah\u2019s 15 goals in qualifiers lifts him above Mohamed Aboutrika, who had held the record since 2013 \u2013 with Amr Zaki, the former Wigan and Hull loanee, now third with 12.
\nThe 31-year-old has netted 53 times in 92 games for his country, meaning he is only 13 behind Egypt\u2019s all-time record goalscorer, Hossam Hassan.
\nHe was subject to a series of strong challenges from Djibouti players throughout, which eventually saw him square up to defender Moussa Araita, but thankfully he avoided any injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Egypt Mohamed Salah ended a three-game barren run for Egypt with four goals as they thrashed Djibouti 6-0 on Thursday, breaking yet another record in the process. Salah failed to find the back of the net in each of his country\u2019s previous fixtures so far this season, misfiring against Tunisia, Zambia and Algeria. But with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":368756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-368740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n