Wednesday was a very big night for one of Liverpool's greatest players ever, as Mohamed Salah netted twice for Egypt in their 3-0 victory over Djibouti.
The win secured Egypt's place in the 2026 World Cup that is being held in North America. This will only be the second appearance for Salah on the biggest stage this sport can offer.
His only other trip to a World Cup came way back in 2018 where he scored two goals as his nation went out at the group stage. His goals came against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, but were not enough for Egypt to secure any wins in the group.
Another Record
In addition to leading his nation back to the World Cup next year, Salah's two goals on Wednesday means he has scored the most goals in African World Cup qualifying history, now having scored 20 goals from 29 qualifiers with the Pharaoh's.
Salah pulled free from a three-way tie with other African footballing legends Samuel Eto'o and Didier Drogba, who are both on 18 goals in WC qualifiers.
While Egypt has not featured the top class depth of sides like the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon and Senegal, the presence of Liverpool's No. 11 has seemingly carried them into contention for AFCON titles and now sees them making their fourth appearance on the biggest stage.
This performance and outcome will do wonders for the Salah's psyche as he has gotten off to a slow start to the new club season, at least by his lofty standards.
Seeing the ball go into the back of the net alone was wonderful news to hear and now having the relief of Egypt booking their spot, he will be more than elated when he does get back to Anfield.
Growing African Contingent at WC '26
Egypt joins Tunisia and Morocco as the other African nations that have so far locked themselves into next year's festivities.
We've seen how hard Salah takes the failures of Egypt, see losing the AFCON final, and in what capacity it actually altered his play the rest of the season.
Arne Slot will be hoping that this strong showing on an individual basis in combination with such a joyous moment for his nation can propel his talisman back to the dangerous heights of just last season.
Two goals and a World Cup role secured for Mo Salah should have him raring to kick-on and recapture the top class form we have come to expect from him.
Salah is going to be one of the main attractions at this tournament and it's a shame this will only be his second experience at this level.