Salah leads Egypt to World Cup qualification

Mohamed Salah will return to the World Cup with Egypt next summer. The Liverpool superstar scored twice in Egypt’s 3–0 win over Djibouti on Wednesday, securing his team’s place at the top of their African qualifying group with one match to spare.

Egypt thus becomes the third African team to qualify so far — after Morocco and Tunisia. Ibrahim Adel also scored for Egypt.

Salah and Egypt previously appeared at the 2018 World Cup, but the forward was hampered by a shoulder injury sustained during the Champions League final just weeks earlier, when Liverpool lost to Real Madrid. During that tournament, Egypt lost all three of their group-stage matches — to hosts Russia, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.

Egypt will be among the nine African teams to qualify directly for the World Cup, with the draw set for December 5 in Washington, D.C.

Burkina Faso sits second in Group A behind Egypt after a 1–0 win in Sierra Leone, while Ethiopia defeated Guinea-Bissau 1–0.

Cape Verde came from 3–1 down to draw 3–3 with Libya, edging closer to a historic first-ever World Cup qualification. Cape Verde now leads Group D by two points ahead of Cameroon, who beat Mauritius 2–0 — with goals from Nicolas Ngamaleu and Bryan Mbeumo.

In the other Group D match, Angola drew 2–2 at home with Eswatini.

A dominant 5–0 victory for Ghana over the Central African Republic brought the Black Stars within touching distance of qualification — they now need only one point from their final game. Madagascar remains second in Group I behind Ghana after a 2–1 win over the Comoros.

Mali secured a 2–0 away victory against Chad. Elsewhere, Niger beat Congo 3–1, and Zambia edged Tanzania 1–0 in Group E.