Algeria’s veteran striker, Islam Slimani, achieved a remarkable feat by scoring a late goal in their World Cup Group G qualifier against Somalia on Thursday.
This goal propelled him to equal the record for the most goals in the African preliminaries.
At 35 years old, Slimani, the senior statesman in the Algerian squad, netted his 18th goal in World Cup qualifying games, matching the record set by Samuel Eto’o and later equaled by Didier Drogba and Moumoui Dagano of Burkina Faso.
Entering the match as a substitute in the 68th minute, Slimani secured his 45th goal for Algeria with a headed effort from a corner by Adam Ounas in the 80th minute, sealing a hard-fought 3-1 victory in Algiers.
Based in Brazil, Slimani learned of his accomplishment from reporters after the match, expressing joy and pride at reaching this milestone in his career. He now has the opportunity to surpass the record when Algeria faces Mozambique in Maputo this Sunday in their next qualifier.
Slimani, whose extensive career includes stints with clubs like Sporting Lisbon, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Fenerbahce, Monaco, Olympique Lyonnaise, and Anderlecht, was the top scorer in the African qualifiers for the last World Cup in Qatar with eight goals.
Although Algeria was eliminated in the last minutes of extra time in their two-legged playoff tie against Cameroon in the previous World Cup, Slimani’s five goals in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers were instrumental in helping Algeria qualify for the finals in Brazil.
Thursday’s match marked his 96th cap for Algeria, with Moumoui Dagano still holding the record for the most goals in a single African qualifying campaign with 12 in the 2010 qualifiers.
