Egyptian player Mohamed Salah scored four goals to kick off the Pharaohs' journey in the World Cup qualifiers with a convincing 6-0 win over Djibouti. Meanwhile, Nigeria unexpectedly drew 1-1 at home against Lesotho on Thursday. Salah's performance secured Egypt's victory in their opening match of Group A in Cairo as the team aims for a spot in the 2026 finals after missing out on last year's World Cup in Qatar.
Nigeria, missing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen due to injury, faced unfavorable weather conditions as Lesotho surprisingly took the lead with a goal from defender Motlomi Mkwanazi in the 56th minute of their Group C match. They held their lead for 11 minutes before London-born center-back Semi Ajayi equalized from a corner taken by Kelechi Iheanacho. However, despite putting pressure on the visiting team for the remainder of the match, Nigeria could not find a winning goal, putting significant pressure on coach José Peseiro with only two months until the African Cup of Nations.
Mozambique achieved their first away win in the qualifiers with a 3-2 victory over Botswana in Group G, where Jonathan Muiomo, playing in Germany's fourth division, scored the winning goal in just his second appearance.
Algeria is the favorite in this group, but their 3-1 home win against Somalia in Algiers was unimpressive, as Riyad Mahrez and Ameen Gouriri were among the stars substituted by coach Djamel Belmadi at halftime to rejuvenate the team.
