The full story of the dispute! Salah ignites controversy with the number 70, and FIFA keeps Hossam Hassan on top

With a simple photo inside the dressing room, Mohamed Salah set social media alight after he appeared smiling while holding a sheet of paper with the number "70" written on it, celebrating reaching his 70th international goal in the shirt of the Egyptian national team, following his brace against Malawi.

Yet this image, which looked like a celebration from the Trabzonspor star, threw open the debate over the true tally of Egypt's top scorer. The Egyptian Football Association's records say 70. FIFA's records say 68.

A special celebration for a historic number

Mohamed Salah marked his 70th international goal in the Egypt shirt in style, posing in the dressing room with a smile while holding a piece of paper bearing the number "70". The image drew huge interaction across social media, confirming his status as one of the greatest scorers in Egypt's history and his habit of rewriting the record books with his country.

His celebration followed a brace against Malawi, which handed Egypt an important win and gave their captain a fresh number to add to a legendary career. That journey began more than a decade ago. In that time he has gone from a young talent at Al Mokawloon Al Arab to one of the best players in the world and an icon of modern Egyptian football.

The picture was no passing celebration. It was a clear message from Salah that he remains at the top, still shattering records despite every pressure and challenge surrounding him with the national team, and despite the criticism that follows him in certain spells.

Battle for the throne: Salah or Hossam Hassan?

Debate over Salah's true tally reignites a historic battle for the title of Egypt's all-time top scorer. It pits the current captain against the legend Hossam Hassan, who scored 69 official international goals in the national team shirt.

By the Egyptian Football Association's count, Salah has already settled it. Reaching 70 goals, he has passed Hossam Hassan by one to sit atop the throne of Egypt's scorers, writing his name at the top of a list that for many long years bore the name of "the Dean".

FIFA's count tells a different story. There the battle remains open, with Salah credited with only 68 goals. That leaves him one behind Hossam Hassan, needing a single goal to level him and two to stand alone at the top. Every upcoming Egypt match becomes an appointment with history.

Why does FIFA say 68 and not 70?

Salah's tally with Egypt stands at 70 goals in the domestic and overall records after his brace against Malawi. In FIFA's official records and on the "Transfermarkt" football statistics network, however, he has only 68 accredited international goals.

This gap comes down to the rules for accrediting international friendlies. FIFA sets strict conditions for treating any match as "A" category, among them a cap on permitted substitutions, and one of the games in which Salah scored failed to meet it.

So Salah holds two numbers at once: a domestic figure accredited by the Egyptian Football Association and the Egyptian media, and an international figure accredited by FIFA. Both are correct by the standards of the body doing the counting. That explains why the debate over his goal count flares up every time he scores a new one.

Swaziland: the secret of the two deleted goals

The difference between the two sets of records traces back to the Swaziland friendly. Salah scored twice against Swaziland in 2013, in a game where former coach Bob Bradley made 10 substitutions. That breaches FIFA's regulations for international matches and strikes the two goals from the official international record.

On domestic accreditation, the Egyptian Football Association and the media statistics count every match played by the senior national team, bringing the total to 70 goals, according to the "WorldFootball" network. FIFA, by contrast, excludes goals scored in matches that see more than 6 substitutions.

Salah also scored 10 other goals with Egypt's under-20 and under-23 youth teams and the Olympic team. None of those count towards the senior national team's tally at any statistics body.

Between 68 and 70, one thing stays constant. Mohamed Salah is the all-time top scorer for the Egypt national team in the modern era, and he is still writing history, goal after goal, image after image.