Mohamed Salah struck twice late on as Egypt swept aside Malawi 5-0 at Cairo International Stadium on Friday, November 13, to begin Ali Maher’s tenure with a convincing victory.
Nasser Maher, Omar Marmoush and Mohamed Hany scored before half-time to put the Pharaohs firmly in control of the Group B qualifier, before Salah added a fourth and converted a stoppage-time penalty.
The victory takes Egypt to seven points from three matches, maintaining their unbeaten start to the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Malawi remain on three points after suffering a second successive defeat.
Maher, who replaced Hossam Hassan on November 7, could hardly have asked for a better opening to his first match in charge.
Egypt needed just six minutes to break through. Salah helped develop the move before Hany supplied Nasser Maher for the opening goal.
Four minutes later, Marmoush doubled the advantage from a Zizo assist, leaving Malawi with an early two-goal deficit and little room for further mistakes.
Hany then added his own name to the scoresheet in the 38th minute, completing a productive first half in which he both scored and provided an assist.
Egypt went into the interval leading 3-0, with their control of possession making it difficult for the visitors to establish themselves in the contest.
Malawi avoided further damage for much of the second half, but Salah extended the lead in the 84th minute following an assist from Ibrahim Adel.
The Egypt captain completed his brace from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time, rounding off a comprehensive home win.
Egypt finished with close to 69 per cent possession and registered 12 shots on target from 23 attempts. Their passing also reflected their control, completing 749 of 815 passes.
Malawi managed 16 attempts, but only four were on target, all of which were saved. Eleven of their efforts came from outside the penalty area, while Egypt recorded 47 touches inside the opposition box compared with the visitors’ 13.
The result gives the Pharaohs consecutive 5-0 victories in qualifying, following their September win away to South Sudan. They had opened their campaign with a goalless draw against Angola.
For Malawi coach Kalisto Pasuwa, attention now turns to improving a defence that has conceded eight goals across its last two qualifiers, following the earlier 3-1 defeat by Angola.
The teams meet again at Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe on November 17, when Malawi will seek a response on home soil and Egypt will look to build on Maher’s winning start.
