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Salah: We made Egypt happy and proud with first win (1:05)
Mohamed Salah has achieved more in the sport than any other Egyptian player in history, gracing the upper echelons of the game with Liverpool, winning silverware aplenty at Anfield, and establishing himself as a global superstar.
He shattered goalscoring records during his decade on Merseyside, and despite the tensions between himself and the Liverpool hierarchy over the last 18 months, will be remembered long after he's gone as an undisputed club legend.
However, international football has always represented something of a gap in his resume, with Salah falling short when benchmarked against the great Egypt players of the past.
While the likes of Mohamed Aboutrika, Wael Gomaa, Essam El-Hadary, Emad Moteab, Gedo, Ahmed Fathy et al achieved little of note in European football, their legacies were gilded in the continental game, both with serial club successes in Egyptian and CAF club competitions, and at the Africa Cup of Nations.
This is where Salah - to date - has fallen short.
Mohamed Salah has achieved plenty of success with Liverpool, but lacks the same for Egypt.
He's twice reached the AFCON final with Egypt, first in 2017 and then in 2021, but on both occasions, the Pharaohs were defeated, first by Cameroon and then by Senegal.
Salah has never truly dominated a Nations Cup tournament, hamstrung, perhaps by perennially conservative tactics under coaches Hector Cuper, Javier Aguirre, Carlos Queiroz or, latterly, Hossam Hassan.
Across five tournaments, he's scored 11 goals in 25 AFCON matches - an admirable record, putting him level on goals with Sadio Mane and Didier Drogba - including four in knockout victories (against Ghana in 2017, Morocco in 2021, and Benin and Ivory Coast in 2025).
However, he's never truly had a career-defining Nations Cup tournament like Ahmed Hassan in 2006 or 2010, or Hosny Abd Rabo or Aboutrika in 2008, and has never brought the AFCON home to Egypt like the Pharaohs' Golden Generation did three times in a row between '06 and '10.
Where Salah has succeeded - where the previous generation failed - is in taking Egypt to the World Cup.
Indeed, the 34-year-old's inspirational displays en route to qualification for the 2018 tournament in Russia - ending Egypt's 28-year absence - are the stuff of legend. That qualifying campaign is surely Salah's greatest achievement with the North Africans to date, with his 94th-minute penalty winner against Congo-Brazzaville in October 2017 sending Alexandria into a standstill.
Yet the 2018 tournament completely passed him by.
After suffering a shoulder injury in the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid - courtesy of some classic Sergio Ramos cynicism - Salah was rushed back, but looked a shadow of himself after making his return in the second game against Russia as Egypt lost all three matches.
The forward, coming off the back of his record-breaking first season at Liverpool, had been in the form of his life, but a consolation goal against the hosts and the opener in a 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia were all he had to show for his bow on the grandest stage.
It was a bitter injustice. The 2026 tournament therefore offers a chance for Salah to finally leave his mark not just at a major tournament, but specifically at a World Cup, but also in a major tournament, belatedly achieving something that his forefathers in the famous red of Egypt never could.
He did exactly that against New Zealand on Sunday, rolling back the years to deliver an exhilarating showing as the Pharaohs mounted a comeback from one goal down to prevail 3-1.
Salah netted Egypt's second, exchanging passes with Mostafa Ziko during a fine interplay as the North Africans sought to capitalise on a disjointed New Zealand defensive effort, before sending a left-footed effort beyond Max Crocombe.
Salah was also influential for the third, sending in a magnificent crossed corner to the near post for substitute Trezeguet to head home Egypt's third and kill off any hopes of a New Zealand fightback.
Admittedly, the Oceania side - ranked 84th in the world - aren't the sternest opponent, but in inspiring his side to victory, Salah wrote history for the Lions.
Primarily, he inspired the Pharaohs to their first World Cup victory ever - bear in mind, they were Africa's first ever representatives, featuring at the second ever edition in 1934 - ending a 92-year wait, with the North Africans having failed to win in eight previous matches in the competition.
Secondly, and at least as importantly, Salah's interventions take Egypt to the brink of the knockout stages, with the veteran again breaking new ground for the nation, who have consistently failed to bring their continental dominance to the international arena.
The win takes Egypt top of Group G ahead of their final group game against Iran, where it would take a near-unthinkable set of circumstances for them to miss out on the knockouts.
For that to happen, the Pharaohs would need to lose against Iran, Belgium would need to beat New Zealand, and their four points would need to be insufficient for them to advance as one of the best third-placed qualifiers.
Basically, they're through; Salah has firmly guided the North African under-performers into unchartered waters at this level.
The question now is what can they achieve from here.
They won't fear Iran, and will sense that progression as group winners is firmly within their grasp, which would then pit them against one of the third-placed teams - maybe Jordan, Ecuador, Czechia, or Cape Verde - none of whom would represent an insurmountable challenge for the Pharaohs.
Most encouragingly, Egypt have been more adventurous than had been expected under Hassan, with the Pharaohs upping their intensity and urgency after falling behind in their second game.
The much-maligned Hassan must also get credit for a half-time team talk in Vancouver which sent the Pharaohs out with a conviction that had been absent before the break.
Emam Ashour has his appetite back, and is a bubbling, creative presence behind the forwards, Salah appears motivated and sharp, and while the same cannot yet be said for Omar Marmoush, there's a sense there's much more to come from the Manchester City forward.
With Ziko catching the eye against New Zealand, and strength in depth in the form of Trezeguet and wonderkid Hamza Abdelkarim, Egypt appear to finally be able to marry fluid offensive options to their traditional defensive rigour.
However, it's Salah who gives Pharaohs genuine hope of reaching the latter stages.
He was the game's outstanding individual against New Zealand, leading in terms of chances created, shots taken (both five), and touches in the opposition area (13), while also becoming the Pharaohs' all-time top World Cup scorer in the process.
There was a sense of destiny about his performance.
"We can make history and qualify top of the group, and in the years to come you will remember this as one of our best achievements," Salah told journalists after the match.
"We just have to enjoy today, enjoy tomorrow, and then focus on the next game.
"It feels like we are playing in Egypt, with all the fans wearing red. Everybody is happy and excited. I do not know what to say - it is a great atmosphere."
In this form, Salah and his teammates can keep the good times rolling a little longer yet, while ensuring that the Liverpool legend can depart the international scene with a genuine legacy to leave behind, having taken Egypt to new heights on the grandest stage of all.