Salah shines with double, Egypt wins early ticket to World Cup 2026

(NLDO) - The surprise did not come at the neutral stadium in Casablanca when Egypt easily defeated "host" Djibouti 3-0, officially winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup one round early.

Until the penultimate round, Egypt was only 2 points ahead of the second-placed team in Group A, Burkina Faso, making the race for the top spot and an official ticket to the World Cup more tense than ever. If they make just one mistake at this crucial stage, all the efforts of coach Hassan Hossam and his team since the beginning of the qualifying round will be "down the drain"...

All of Egypt's hopes are pinned on their main striker Mohamed Salah, but the Liverpool star has been "silent" in the last 5 matches in the Premier League. The worry is not small for the army of the Land of the Pyramids as the pressure is increasing.

Ibrahim Adel and Mohamed Salah celebrate the opening goal

Although considered superior in every aspect compared to Djibouti, Egypt still showed their mettle when entering the match with an overwhelming position. In the 8th minute, Egypt opened the score from a lightning-fast attack. Ahmed "Zizo" Sayed made a favorable pass for Ibrahim Adel to head the ball into the net of Djibouti goalkeeper Omar Mahamoud.

Salah (10) doubled the gap for Egypt

Just 6 minutes later, Mohamed Salah received a pass from Trezeguet to score a goal to double the gap for the Egyptian visitors. Salah's performance in the "The Kop" shirt is being watched by experts, but in the national team, he is still the "Pharaohs'" biggest hope.

Salah had another shot over the bar and almost had a second goal of his own before the first half ended.

Leading by 2 goals but Egypt still maintained the necessary concentration

The match's speed slowed down in the second half but Egypt still managed to raise the score to 3-0 in the 84th minute, Salah was still the author of the goal with a beautiful lob in the penalty area after an assist from Marwan Arteya.

Mohamed Salah completes double as Egypt win overall

Unbeaten after nine matches (7 wins, 2 draws) and the victory over Djibouti put Egypt on top of Group A with 23 points, 5 points ahead of second-placed Burkina Faso with only the final round of qualifying. This means Egypt has become the third African team – after Morocco and Tunisia – to officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals. This is also the fourth time in history that Egypt has participated in the biggest football festival on the planet, after the first three times participating in 1934, 1990 and 2018.

Egypt's fourth World Cup appearance

Burkina Faso finished second in Group A , with a good chance of making it into the group of four best second-placed teams to compete in the African play-off round, maintaining their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup through the intercontinental play-off round.

In another development in Group D , Cape Verde missed the chance to secure an early ticket to the 2026 World Cup despite a great effort to draw 3-3 with host Libya after being 2 goals down. This team is currently only 2 points ahead of Cameroon after 9 matches and will have to try hard for the dream of reaching the World Cup. Cape Verde needs to beat the bottom team Eswatini in the final match to decide their own fate.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/salah-toa-sang-ai-cap-gianh-ve-som-du-world-cup-2026-196251009072407471.htm