Man City face tough talks as Egypt want Marmoush earlier than expected for AFCON duty

Man City face tough talks as Egypt want Marmoush earlier than expected for AFCON duty

Manchester City winger Omar Marmoush is wanted by Egypt earlier than expected in what could be a blow for the side.

Marmoush scored as Egypt recorded a 2-0 victory over Cape Verde on penalties this week in what was effectively a warm-up game for the African Cup of Nations next month, as both sides had already qualified for the World Cup.0

The tournament in Morocco begins on December 21st, with Egypt starting their campaign the following day against Zimbabwe.0

However, the Pharaohs play Nigeria in a friendly in Cairo on Sunday, December 14th and Ibrahim Hassan, the director of the Egyptian national team is in contact to take Marmoush and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah early.0

"We are still in contact with Liverpool and Manchester City at the moment, regarding this matter," Hassan told winwinsports.0

This could be detrimental to City’s title push as the more games Marmoush misses, the more Guardiola has to try and rotate his side. Marmoush could miss more than a month of action for City, meaning more than 10 fixtures.0

Egypt are one of the favourites for the competition and also face South Africa and Angola in the group stages where they will likely progress.0

It remains to be seen whether Manchester City sanction an early exit for Marmoush for the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations in what is a tough choice for Guardiola who risks upsetting Egypt and his side either way.0