Umaro Embaló

Úmaro Embaló (born 6 May 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Dutch Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard.^[2] Born in Guinea-Bissau, he was a youth international for Portugal.

Úmaro Embaló

Personal information
Date of birth	(2001-05-06) 6 May 2001 (age 23)
Place of birth	Bissau, Guinea-Bissau
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Fortuna Sittard
Youth career
2014–2015	AD Oeiras
2015–2020	Benfica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2022	Benfica B	59	(6)
2022–	Fortuna Sittard	27	(3)
2023–2024	→ Cartagena (loan)	16	(0)
2024	→ Rio Ave (loan)	14	(1)
International career‡
2015–2016	Portugal U16	12	(6)
2016–2018	Portugal U17	27	(16)
2019	Portugal U18	3	(1)
2018–2019	Portugal U19	13	(4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2019

Club career

Benfica

Embaló progressed through Benfica's youth academy, after being scouted AD Oeiras in 2015.^[3] On 12 September 2017, Embaló made his debut for the under-19 team in the UEFA Youth League in a 5–1 home victory against CSKA Moscow, replacing Jota in the 75th minute and scoring the final goal of the game in the 89th minute.^[4]

On 27 October 2018, he made his debut for Benfica's reserves in the Segunda Liga, coming on as a late substitute for Chris Willock in a 3–2 home win against Sporting da Covilhã.^[5] In the 2018–19 season, he appeared in all six games with the under-19 team in the UEFA Youth League, scoring once and reaching the knockout stage, where they eventually lost to Montpellier.^[2][6] He made three appearances for the reserves in the second division that season.^[2]

Embaló scored his first Segunda Liga goal on 11 August 2019 against Estoril, catching opposing goalkeeper António Filipe on the wrong foot with a misplaced cross which sailed into the top corner, to secure a 2–1 victory.^[7] He played in nine games in the second division and scored twice that season, before it was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.^[8] In the UEFA Youth League, the team made it to the final after defeating Dinamo Zagreb (3–1) and Ajax (3–0).^[9][10] However, Benfica lost 3–2 to Real Madrid's under-19s in the final in which Embaló started, despite Gonçalo Ramos' brace.^[11] Embaló made seven appearances and scored three goals in the Youth League that season.^[2][12][13]

In the 2020–21 season, he missed the entire first half of the season due to various reasons, including testing positive for COVID-19. In the second half of the season, he made sixteen appearances.^[2] During his time at Benfica, he was reported to having received interest by Real Madrid, Manchester United, RB Leipzig and PSV Eindhoven, but a move failed to come to fruition.^[3][14]

Fortuna Sittard

In August 2022, Embaló signed a four-year contract with Eredivisie club Fortuna Sittard for a fee reported to be in the region of €1 million with a 50% sell-on clause.^[15] He made his debut for the club on 17 September in a 1–0 league victory against Excelsior, replacing Tijjani Noslin in the 55th minute.^[16] On 2 October, he scored on his first ever start for Fortuna, curling a strike from distance into the top corner in a 2–0 Eredivisie win over Volendam.^[17][18]

On 29 August 2023, Embaló was loaned to Spanish Segunda División side Cartagena for the 2023–24 season.^[19] On 31 January 2024, he moved on a new loan to Rio Ave.^[20]

Career statistics

As of match played 21 May 2023^[2]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			KNVB Cup		Europe		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Benfica B	2018–19	LigaPro	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
	2019–20	LigaPro	9	2	—		—		—		9	2
	2020–21	LigaPro	16	0	—		—		—		16	0
	2021–22	LigaPro	31	4	—		—		—		31	4
	Total		59	6	—		—		—		59	6
Fortuna Sittard	2022–23	Eredivisie	26	3	1	0	—		—		27	3
Career total			85	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	86	9

Honours

Benfica U19

• Campeonato Nacional de Juniores: 2017–18^[2]
• UEFA Youth League runner-up: 2019–20^[11]

References

1. "Úmaro Embaló – Profiel". Voetbal International (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
2. Umaro Embaló at Soccerway. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
3. "'PSV gaat bij Benfica bod van twintig miljoen uitbrengen op toptalent'". GOAL (in Dutch). 28 March 2019. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
4. "SL Benfica – CSKA Moskva 5:1 (Youth Youth League 2017/2018, Group A)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
5. "SL Benfica B – Sporting Covilhã 3:2 (Segunda Liga 2018/2019, 7. Round)". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
6. "Montpellier–Benfica | UEFA Youth League 2018/19". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
7. "Reviravolta encarnada colocou justiça no resultado". S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). 11 August 2019. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
8. "Nacional e Farense sobem, Casa Pia e Cova da Piedade despromovidos". Record (in European Portuguese). 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 October 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
9. "Dinamo Zagreb–Benfica | UEFA Youth League 2019/20". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
10. "Ajax–Benfica | UEFA Youth League 2018/19". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
11. "Desfecho imerecido, mas honraram a camisola até ao fim!". S.L. Benfica. 26 August 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
12. "Real Madrid keep eye on Benfica starlet Umaro Embalo". Tribuna. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
13. "Manchester United target Umaro Embalo reveals Red Devils flop and current PSG star Angel Di Maria to be his idol". GOAL. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
14. Jakobs, Geert-Jan (31 August 2022). "Fortuna Sittard gaat op Deadline Day nog voor aanvaller van Benfica". Voetbal International (in Dutch). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
15. Kleinen, Jelle (31 August 2022). "Fortuna Sittard haalt Úmaro Embaló van Benfica B". 1limburg (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 31 August 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
16. "Fortuna Sittard vs. Excelsior – 17 September 2022". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
17. Puts, Wim (2 October 2022). "Embaló en Özyakup leiden Fortuna naar belangrijke zege". 1limburg (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
18. Smit, Gideon (2 October 2022). "FC Volendam overtuigt niet op het moment dat het moet; Fortuna Sittard met 2-0 te sterk". Noordhollands Dagblad (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
19. "Umaro Embaló, velocidad y desequilibrio para reforzar ambas bandas" [Umaro Embaló, speed and skill to bolster both wings] (in Spanish). FC Cartagena. 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
20. "Úmaro Embaló é reforço do Rio Ave FC" [Úmaro Embaló is a Rio Ave FC reinforcement] (in European Portuguese). Rio Ave. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.

External links

• Umaro Embaló at BDFutbol
• Umaro Embaló at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Umaro Embaló national team profile at the Portuguese Football Federation (in Portuguese)