Omar Marmoush — Egypt World Cup 2026 Squad

Career Highlights

Omar Marmoush scored 16 goals in his first 20 Bundesliga matches of 2024-25 — the fastest start by any Frankfurt player since Anthony Yeboah in 1993. He finished his Frankfurt career with 37 goals in 62 appearances across all competitions before Manchester City paid a reported €75 million for him in January 2025. At City he scored on his Premier League debut against Chelsea and added a hat-trick against Newcastle in March. His 18 goals in 40 Egypt caps have come at a rate of one every 2.2 matches, the best ratio of any current Egyptian forward besides Salah.

Club Career

Marmoush came through Wadi Degla in Cairo and joined Wolfsburg academy in 2017. He made only 25 Bundesliga appearances across three seasons at Wolfsburg, with loan spells at St Pauli and VfB Stuttgart producing modest returns. His breakthrough came when he rejected a Wolfsburg contract extension and joined Eintracht Frankfurt on a free transfer in 2023. Under Dino Topmoeller he became the focal point of an attack that also featured Hugo Ekitike and Faride Alidou. His dribbling completion rate of 62 percent in the Bundesliga ranked fifth among forwards with at least 50 attempts. At Manchester City, Pep Guardiola deployed him as a left-sided inside forward in a front three with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

International Career & World Cup History

Marmoush scored on his Egypt debut against Liberia in October 2019 and quickly established himself as Salah most reliable partner. He scored twice in a 2023 friendly against Morocco and netted the equaliser in a crucial 2026 World Cup qualifier against Burkina Faso in June 2024. Egypt have not progressed past the World Cup round of 16 since 1990, when they last qualified before 2018. Marmoush was part of the squad that reached the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations final on home soil, losing to Senegal on penalties, and started every match.

World Cup 2026 Outlook

Egypt head to the tournament with their deepest squad in a generation, and Marmoush is the player who transforms them from a one-man team reliant on Salah into a genuine attacking threat on both flanks. His movement into the left half-space drags defenders away from Salah on the right. At 26 he is entering his prime, and a season training alongside Haaland and Foden at City will sharpen his finishing. The question is whether he can adapt to tournament football, where low blocks will deny him the space he exploits in league matches. If Egypt are to reach the quarter-finals for the first time, Marmoush needs to produce moments of individual quality in tight spaces.