Egypt defeats Malawi 2-0 in a qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations thanks to Salah.

Mohamed Salah scored his 48th goal for Egypt on Friday as the Pharaohs reclaimed the top spot in Group D after beating Malawi 2-0 in front of a 20,000 fans in the 30 June stadium. Salah, 20, and Omar Marmoush, 45+1, scored in the first half to give coach Vitoria a winning debut in his first official game. Salah combines with Mohamed Hamdy to collect a cutback pass inside the box and tap home with a left-foot shot. The hosts took their foot off the pedal after the interval allowing Malawi to gain momentum but nothing troubled the Egyptian keeper. Coach Rui Vitoria made several substitution to bring in new blood as Ahmed Abdel-Kader and Marwan Atteya made their international debut and Mahmoud "Kaharaba" Abdel-Moneim played his first game for Egypt since 2019.

The Pharaohs have now six points after three games while Malawi are bottom. Egypt will fly Saturday to Malawi to play them on Tuesday in the next round.