The amendment made by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to the number of international goals scored in the name of Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, rearranged the list of historical scorers for the Pharaohs, leaving Hossam Hassan, the former coach of the national team, in the lead with 69 goals, one goal ahead of Salah.
Salah, the Turkish star of Trabzonspor, scored two goals in Egypt's 5-0 victory over Malawi on Friday in the qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations, raising his tally to 68 international goals according to the new numbers approved by FIFA, after he had reached 70 goals and surpassed Hossam Hassan's number of 69 goals, based on the previous statistics of the International Federation.
The details of the matter go back to a report published by FIFA on its official website in June 2026, in which it indicated that Salah had reached 68 goals for the Egyptian national team, after scoring a goal against New Zealand during the 2026 World Cup, making him one goal away from equaling the record recorded in the name of Hossam Hassan.
But the International Federation returned and amended its data, reducing Salah’s goal tally to 66 goals before facing Malawi, before the player added two goals in the match, and again reached 68 goals, remaining behind Hossam Hassan by one goal, instead of surpassing him as was believed according to previous numbers.
The FIFA report published last June highlighted the five most prominent goals in Salah’s international career, noting that he was close to breaking Hossam Hassan’s record, who left a few days ago as coach of the Egyptian national team.
Salah's goal against New Zealand during the 2026 World Cup was his most notable milestone, after he contributed to leading Egypt to achieve its first victory in the history of its participation in the World Cup, with a score of 3-1. Salah assisted the equalizer scored by Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, and added the second goal himself, after the Pharaohs regained their lead in the match.
Salah also played a decisive role in Egypt’s qualification to the 2018 World Cup, after an absence of 28 years, when he scored the winning goal from a penalty kick in stoppage time against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after opening the scoring in the match that ended with the Pharaohs winning 2-1.
In the 2017 African Cup of Nations, Salah scored a special goal against Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, with a shot from outside the penalty area, before the Egyptian team decided to qualify for the final via penalty kicks, during which the Pharaohs’ captain scored one of the kicks.
At the World Cup qualifiers level, Salah scored four goals in Egypt’s 6-0 victory over Djibouti, achieving the first international quadruple in his career. He also surpassed Mohamed Aboutrika to become the all-time top scorer for the Egyptian national team in the World Cup qualifiers.
Salah returned to score two goals during the victory over Djibouti 3-0 in the second leg, ensuring Egypt’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup, raising his score to 20 goals in the African qualifiers for the World Cup.
Despite the many records that Salah achieved in the Egyptian national team jersey, the title of the Pharaohs' historic top scorer is still in the possession of Hossam Hassan, awaiting what the next matches of the national team captain will produce in his race towards the record.
Mira Andreeva said that she had learned how to recover more quickly from setbacks, after the young Russian woman, on Friday, ended her career undefeated in the group stage of the final tournament of the women's tennis season.
Andreeva won her third match in the group stage in two straight sets after a late change in the identity of her opponent, after she had already reserved her place in the semi-finals. The 19-year-old Russian player said that her match against Diana Schneider, an alternate in the tournament, posed a new psychological challenge for her because she had guaranteed her qualification, but she still wanted to maintain her momentum.
Andreeva told reporters: “Before the tournament started, I was afraid that I would not win any match in the group. Now you see how it turned out.
Thanks to this victory, Andreeva will have her first match in her career against American Jessica Pegula later on Saturday. Andreeva described Pegula as one of the calmest players on the WTA Tour, and said that her coach Conchita Martinez would help her prepare a detailed technical plan.
Andreeva's poise in the California desert represented a contrast to her emotionally charged exit from the Indian Wells tournament last March, when she lost her attempt to defend her title to Czech Katerina Siniakova. Frustrated by the defeat, she hurled insults at the fans and was met with boos as she left the stadium.
The French Open champion said that her reaction to defeats has changed significantly over the course of the season.
“Before, it was very bad,” Andreeva said. I was too dramatic. It used to take me two or three full days. I wasn't talking to anyone. “I was sitting in my room and closing the door, not wanting to train.”
Now, she said, the disappointment generally lasts only a day at most before the demands of the WTA tournaments force her to refocus on training or the next match.
Andreeva explained that the setback she suffered at the Indian Wells tournament came at a time when she was trying to incorporate the changes she had made in training into her playing style during matches, which led to fluctuations in performance and frustration. She explained that continuous work on the field, along with sessions with psychologists, helped her make progress.
This was followed by achieving results. Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros this year, and qualified for the season-ending tournament for the first time after a season in which she achieved 50 wins.
