Internationals | Marmoush scores brace for Egypt in AFCON qualifier
Omar Marmoush grabbed two goals for Egypt in their Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group B clash against South Sudan on Tuesday afternoon.
Hossam Hassan’s side were 5-0 winners in Juba in the second game of their qualifying campaign for the tournament in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next summer.
On his 57th appearance for his country, the 27-year-old scored the second and fourth goals for the Pharaohs before being substituted with three minutes to go.
The victory, Egypt’s first of the campaign after opening with a 0-0 draw against Angola last week, moves them to the top of Group B.
It took 36 minutes for the 24th-ranked side in the world to break the deadlock at Juba Stadium, with Mostafa Ziko smashing in Ahmed Fatouh’s cross from close range.
Four minutes after the break, Omar doubled the Egyptian lead, latching onto a forward ball played by Mohanad Lasheen and bursting in on goal, where he slotted the ball under the body of opposition goalkeeper Majak Mawith.
Ibrahim Adel extended their lead to three with 15 minutes to go, firing past Mawith from the edge of the penalty area before our number 22 got his second, eight minutes later.
The forward got on the end of a defence-splitting pass by Emam Ashour and took the ball around the South Sudan goalkeeper before firing home.
Our summer recruit was substituted for FC Barcelona’s Hamza Abdelkarim after 87 minutes, who put the finishing touches on the victory by adding an Egyptian fifth in stoppage time.
Next up for Omar and his teammates is a friendly with South Africa on Sunday, 4 October, befoe a pair of qualifiers against Malawi in the November international break.