AFCON 2027 Qualifiers: Egypt Thrashes Malawi, Morocco Nears Qualification

The Egyptian national team began the tenure of its new coach, Ali Maher, with a sweeping 5-0 victory led by its star Mohamed Salah over its guest Malawi on Friday in the third round of the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations finals, while Morocco moved closer to qualification with a third win.

Salah, who missed the last two matches, scored two goals (84' and 90+5'), following a trio of goals from Nasser Maher (6'), Omar Marmoush (11'), and Mohamed Hany (39').

With his brace, Salah became the all-time leading scorer for "The Pharaohs" with 70 goals, surpassing the dismissed former coach Hossam Hassan.

The Egyptian team topped Group B with 7 points, while Malawi's tally remained at 3 points in third place, before they meet again in Lilongwe next Tuesday for the fourth round.

Ali Maher took over as the technical director of the Egyptian national team last Saturday after Hossam Hassan was dismissed for disciplinary reasons.

Maher played Salah, the striker for Turkey's Trabzonspor, who had missed the second-round match against South Sudan and then the friendly against South Africa, amid doubts about issues with the former coach.

With the first goal, Salah equaled Hassan's record as the top scorer for the Egyptian national team, before surpassing him with the second goal, breaking a record that had stood for more than 20 years.

Moroccan Five-Goal Haul 

The Moroccan national team moved closer to securing its place in the finals with a 5-1 victory over its guest, Niger.

Coach Mohamed Wehbi's team delivered a strong performance in the first half, quickly imposing their rhythm and opening the scoring through Yasser Zabiri, who converted a cross from Spanish Real Madrid winger Brahim Díaz into the net (4').

The "Atlas Lions" were not content with the lead and continued to pressure Niger's goal. After a series of attempts, captain Achraf Hakimi added the second goal with a fantastic long-range rocket shot (27').

Niger player Mohamed Abd al-Rahman managed to reduce the deficit with a close-range header, capitalizing on goalkeeper Yassine Bounou's advance off his line (41'). Bounou then saved a penalty kick taken by Youssouf Oumarou (44').

Hakimi extended the lead with the third goal from a direct free kick that he placed in the bottom left corner (45+2').

Youssef En-Nesyri secured the win for the "Atlas Lions" with the fourth goal eight minutes after coming on as a substitute, capitalizing on a cross from Hakimi (77').

Ayoub Oufkir needed only 15 minutes to score his first goal in his first international match, netting Morocco's fifth by converting a cross from the young Abdellah Ouazzane (90').

In the same group, the Gabonese team defeated its guest Lesotho 2-0 in Franceville.

In Group H, the Libyan team complicated the situation for its Tunisian counterpart and their coach, Moïn Chaâbani, by defeating them 2-0.

The return of the "Carthage Eagles" to play in Sfax was not successful, as their situation became complicated with their points frozen at two, placing them last in the group standings. Meanwhile, the Libyan team raised its tally to four points, temporarily in second place, awaiting the result of the match between leader Uganda and Botswana on Saturday.

Tunisia has not missed the continental competition since hosting it in 1994, when its team finished as runner-up to champion Nigeria. This marks 17 consecutive participations (a record), and they were crowned champions in 2004 on home soil.

This is Libya's seventh historic win over its neighbor Tunisia in 34 matches, compared to 20 wins for the Carthage Eagles, with seven matches ending in a draw.

Before the end of the first half, the Libyans were awarded a penalty after Azzo Al-Maryami was pulled down by the veteran Tunisian defender Ali Maâloul. Ali Yousef converted it past goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen (44').

The Libyans exploited the spaces in the area of the offensively-minded Tunisian team, extending their lead through the veteran Hamdou Elhouni with a powerful shot past Dahmen, capitalizing on a pass from Saif Jaddour (63').

The two teams will meet next Tuesday in Tripoli for the fourth round.