Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly names Manchester City star as ‘toughest opponent’ at AFCON | OneFootball

One of Manchester City’s African Cup of Nations representatives has now been named as ‘the toughest opponent’ faced at the competition by the eventual winners.

Despite failing to reach the Final of the Africa Cup of Nations, Omar Marmoush’s impact at the tournament has drawn widespread praise, with the Manchester City forward emerging as one of the most feared attacking threats at the tournament.

Throughout the competition, Marmoush’s pace, directness, and intelligence in one-on-one situations consistently caused problems for defences, while an ability to stretch backlines and exploit space in transition was a recurring feature of Egypt’s attacking approach.

This recognition further builds on what has already been a significant period in Marmoush’s career, particularly given his importance for Manchester City – which is only expected to grow as fixture scheduling and demands intensify during the second-half of the season.

Speaking exclusively to winwin’s Ismael Mahmoud off the back of the tournament, Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly revealed, “The toughest opponent at AFCON? I can’t single out just one player, but Omar Marmoush was truly among the very toughest strikers I’ve faced.”

Widely regarded as one of Africa’s most accomplished centre-backs, the Senegal captain has faced some of the world’s elite attackers at both club and international level, and to be singled out among such company highlights the respect Marmoush has earned.

For Manchester City, this serves as further validation of the quality they possess within their squad and with the club navigating a demanding run of fixtures and balancing competitions, Marmoush’s form and confidence gained at AFCON may provide a timely boost.

Having starred in a 2-0 win over Wolves with a goal of his own and put in a strong performance during the 2-0 win over Galatasaray to secure progression into the Champions League’s last-16, the importance of Omar Marmoush is only expected to grow as bigger games approach.