Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush is desperate to lead Egypt to glory at the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations and upcoming FIFA World Cup.
The Pharaohs kicked off their AFCON campaign on Monday with a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe in Morocco – hosts for the first time in 37 years – as Marmoush and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah both scored to put Egypt on course for an eighth title.
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Marmoush will be glad to find some playing time given he has barely featured for Manchester City so far this season, starting twice in the Premier League in 12 games wherein he has been named on the team sheet – while missing six games in all competitions with a knee injury between September and October.
Still, the 26-year-old – who completed a £59 million move to the Etihad Stadium in January – made a strong start to life in England – scoring seven goals and providing two assists in 16 Premier League games as Manchester City secured a hard-fought third place finish in the 2024-25 league campaign.
Speaking to Manchester City’s official channels in the buildup to Egypt’s 2-1 opening AFCON win over Zimbabwe on Monday, Marmoush outlined his country’s ambitions for the tournament as well as the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We’ll win the Africa Cup of Nations of course, and then we’ll win the World Cup,” the City forward said. We want to show ourselves in a good way and we can dream of winning the tournament too, or of reaching a certain stage.
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“We’re not going just to make a name for ourselves. We went to the World Cup and that’s it – with the players we have, with the team we have, with the quality we have, and as the Egyptian national team, we are the best team in Africa.
“And (next summer) you go to the World Cup to pass the group-stage, to show the world who you are, not just to be present.”
Marmoush hasn’t scored for Manchester City since a 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over Swansea City at the end of October – but AFCON could strengthen the attacker’s savviness in attacking areas, especially at a time when the Blues could do with alternatives to Erling Haaland in their goalscoring department.
Meanwhile, Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden have all impressed in recent months as City retain a tight grip on the Premier League title race this past weekend, courtesy of an important 3-0 win over West Ham. Only Arsenal stand in City’s way, sitting two points clear at the top of the tree.
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The power that City’s attacking trio produce may need to have lasting effects given that Marmoush is likely to be gone for a while. The AFCON final will be held on January 18, with Egypt posing a 12.4% win probability – just below favourites Morocco (19.1%), according to Opta.
Manchester City are mulling over the activation of Antoine Semenyo’s £65 million release clause at Bournemouth in January, with the Ghana international deemed as a potent addition to the Blues’ frontline by Guardiola, though City face competition from Manchester United and Liverpool for the 25-year-old forward’s signature.
