On Thursday, in Egypt’s 6-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Djibouti, Mohamed Salah scored four goals, continuing his goal-scoring rampage from Liverpool to Cairo.

In the initial thirty minutes of the Cairo International Stadium match, Salah tallied five goals. His contribution to the game was the inclusion of the fourth.

It was Egypt’s first meeting in the expanded African qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. After competing in the Russia tournament, the seven-time African Cup champions were unable to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Salah has accumulated 12 goals for Liverpool across all competitions, two of which came in the club’s 3-0 Premier League triumph over Brentford. It is a league record that Salah has scored in each of Liverpool’s first six home games of a season.

Mostafa Mohammed and Trézéguet tallied the remaining Pharaohs goals.

In supplementary matches, Lesotho maintained a 1-1 home draw with Nigeria, Algeria held Somalia to a 3-1 draw, Burundi prevailed over Botswana 3-2, Mozambique overcame Botswana 3-2, Gabon overcame Kenya 2-1, and Sudan maintained a 1-1 draw with Togo.

Nine African nations will receive direct qualification for the 48-team World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A tenth team could potentially advance to the semifinals.

Unbeknownst to the Nigerians, one of the continent’s smallest nations held them scoreless. The home team dominated the majority of the possession at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. However, in the early stages of the second half, Lesotho seized the lead on the strength of defender Motlomelo Mkhawanazi’s unmarked header.

Victor Boniface, a forward for Bayer Leverkusen, scored an additional unrestricted header in response to Kelechi Iheanacho’s cross.

Lesotho lacks the necessary qualifications to even contend in the African Cup of Nations, let alone the World Cup.