Although Marmoush turned down an opportunity to represent Canada, he is poised to become a national hero in Egypt by making World Cup history in Vancouver on Sunday.
Egypt, known as the Pharaohs, are African football powerhouses with a record seven continental titles but remain winless in eight World Cup matches.
Facing New Zealand, ranked 56 spots below Egypt in the FIFA rankings, presents Egypt with a prime opportunity to secure its first World Cup victory and advance beyond the group stages for the first time.
This opportunity also allows Marmoush to make his mark on the global stage.
Overshadowed by Mohamed Salah’s superstar status, Marmoush has played second fiddle to Erling Haaland at the club level since joining Manchester City 17 months ago.
While challenging, this experience strengthens him, as he must give his all on the pitch knowing that another player is waiting to take his place,” Marmoush told GQ Middle East in a recent interview.
I trained hard to reach this point, my entire career leading up to this moment — to compete and play with the world’s best and win titles.
At 18, the Cairo native left his club Wadi Degla and homeland to launch his European career with German club Wolfsburg.
After loan spells at St. Pauli and Stuttgart, he emerged as a Bundesliga star at Eintracht Frankfurt before securing a €70 million ($80 million) transfer to City.
During his early years in Germany, his progress attracted the attention of the Canadian Soccer Association.
Marmoush’s parents acquired Canadian citizenship after working in Canada before his birth.
But when I received the call, my decision was already made: Egypt is my national team, and I put Egypt above everything else.
He may not yet enjoy the status of Salah, but Marmoush is vital to Egypt’s prospects of World Cup progress.
His development has eased some of the goalscoring burden on Salah, who at 34 had a disappointing final season at Liverpool after a glittering nine-year spell.
“It’s a team that defends and counters, featuring two fantastic players in Salah and Marmoush — both of whom are incredibly fast,” said Belgium coach Rudi Garcia after a 1-1 draw in their Group G opener.
On paper, Belgium provided Egypt’s toughest test of the group stages.
New Zealand have also never won a World Cup match, while their final group opponents Iran have had to contend with a series of logistical and emotional distractions as a result of the conflict between co-hosts the United States and the Islamic Republic.
Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous nation and so long an underachiever on the global stage, craves a World Cup win to celebrate.
“I think the World Cup is a football moment where you can dream to go as far as possible,” added Marmoush.
“We always dream big. It’s great that we have so many MENA (Middle East and North African) teams at the tournament this year, but it’s not just about numbers.
“We want to go there and perform. Here we are playing on the biggest stage in world football, let’s show them what we’ve got!”