Salah finally surpasses Hossam Hassan, sets all-time record Egypt

Mohamed Salah has continued to strengthen his legacy as his country's greatest-ever player, surpassing Hossam Hassan to become the all-time leading goalscorer for the Egypt national team.

The Trabzonspor forward reached the historic milestone in a 5-0 demolition of Malawi at Cairo International Stadium on November 13, netting a late brace to take his international tally to 70.

Salah entered the fixture sitting on 68 international goals, needing just one to equal the long-standing record of 69 held by current Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan.

He matched the tally in the 84th minute, heading in a cross from Ibrahim Adel to put the Pharaohs 4-0 up, before converting a stoppage-time penalty down the middle to claim the outright record.

The double capped off a dominant performance from the hosts, who had already taken a commanding lead following early strikes from Nasser Maher and Tottenham Hotspur forward Omar Marmoush, alongside a long-range effort from Mohamed Hany.

Hassan originally set the benchmark during an illustrious international career which lasted 21 years (1985–2006), establishing a scoring record that many within the country believed would never be broken.

However, Salah has consistently rewritten the history books since making his international debut. The 34-year-old has been the undisputed talisman of the national setup for over a decade, recently inspiring the team to their first-ever World Cup victory against New Zealand during the group stages of the 2026 tournament.