Liverpool star Mohamed Salah could this week become the second African football icon, after Achraf Hakimi, to ensure his presence at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Salah will captain Egypt in Burkina Faso in a top-of-the-table African Zone Group A qualifier on Tuesday, and a win for the Pharaohs will guarantee finishing first with two matches to spare.
Paris Saint-Germain star Hakimi helped Morocco become the first African qualifiers at the weekend when they scored five unanswered goals after Niger were reduced to 10 men by a red card in Rabat.
The nine group winners in Africa qualify for the World Cup, which will feature a record 48 nations, up from 32 at the last edition in Qatar three years ago.
Salah converted a penalty in a 2-0 win over Ethiopia in Cairo on Friday, and Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush also scored from a spot kick to maintain a five-point lead over the Burkinabe.
Burkina Faso crushed 10-man Djibouti 6-0 the same day, with recent Brentford signing Dango Ouattara atoning for missing a penalty by scoring twice, including from another spot kick.
This will be the first time the Stallions play in the Burkinabe capital, Ouagadougou, during the 2026 World Cup campaign.
The August 4 Stadium, venue of the 1998 Africa Cup of Nations final won by Egypt against South Africa, fell into disrepair, leading to the ground being barred from hosting international fixtures.
Egypt beat Burkina Faso 2-1 when they met in Cairo last year, thanks to a whirlwind start with Mahmoud Hassan, popularly known as Trezeguet, scoring twice within seven minutes of the kick-off.
The Egyptians have scored 16 goals in seven qualifiers, with 12 coming from Salah (seven) and Trezeguet (five). Salah lies second in the Golden Boot race, one goal behind Gabonese Denis Bouanga.
Lassina Traore, who plays for Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk, is the leading Burkinabe scorer with five goals, including one in Cairo that turned the second half into a tense affair.
Even if Egypt fails in Burkina Faso, they will hold a two-point lead and, given their remaining matches are against strugglers Djibouti and Guinea-Bissau in October, are still likely to win the group.
Securing a place at the 104-match tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico would be a huge relief for Egypt, which has been African champions seven times but World Cup qualifiers just twice.
