The forward, on loan at Tottenham from Manchester City, ended a 139-day wait for a goal in Juba on Tuesday. A relief for him, and for a Hossam Hassan under pressure.
It had been a long time coming. Omar Marmoush had not scored since 13 May in any competition. On Tuesday, 29 September, the Egyptian forward finally ended that barren run with two goals in the Pharaohs’ 5-0 rout of South Sudan, on matchday two of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
After Mostafa Zico had opened the scoring (36′), Marmoush doubled the lead four minutes after the restart, played through one-on-one by Mohanad Lasheen. In between, substitute Ibrahim Adel made it 3-0 (75′), before Marmoush struck again in the 83rd minute from an Emam Ashour pass. Young Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim, who replaced Marmoush late on, completed the rout in stoppage time (90+2′) with his first international goal.
139 days of frustration
The numbers show how tough a spell the former Eintracht Frankfurt man had been going through. His last international goal dated back to 27 March, in a 4-0 friendly win over Saudi Arabia. He had gone nine international matches without scoring, five of them at the 2026 World Cup. At club level, his last goal came on 13 May, for Manchester City against Crystal Palace (3-0).
The brace takes Marmoush, 27, to 13 goals in 57 caps. It should give him a little more confidence for the rest of his loan spell at Tottenham, currently bottom of the Premier League.
Salah absent, Hassan relieved
The Pharaohs played without Mohamed Salah. According to the Egyptian Football Association, the captain was given permission to sit out the game, played on an artificial pitch, to avoid any risk of injury. Rami Rabia wore the armband.
After a goalless draw with Angola in Cairo, this win puts Egypt top of Group B with four points. For Hossam Hassan, who has faced criticism in recent days, it is a breath of fresh air. After the match, the coach stressed that his side cannot rely on a single player.