Umaro Embaló
Cuba footballer (born 2001)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saico Úmaro Embaló (born 6 May 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Druga NL club Kustošija.[2] Born in Guinea-Bissau, he was a youth international for Portugal.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 May 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Bissau, Guinea-Bissau | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Kustošija | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2014–2015 | AD Oeiras | ||
| 2015–2020 | Benfica | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2022 | Benfica B | 59 | (6) |
| 2022–2025 | Fortuna Sittard | 29 | (3) |
| 2023–2024 | → Cartagena (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2024 | → Rio Ave (loan) | 14 | (5) |
| 2025 | → Vitória de Guimarães (loan) | 7 | (2) |
| 2026– | Kustošija | 0 | (0) |
| 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 as of 13 March 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals 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] One year later, on 28 January 2025, he signed a half-season loan deal with Vitória S.C.[21] In April 2025, he was banned from playing after testing positive for an illegal substance.[22] His contract with Fortuna was subsequently terminated by mutual consent.[23]
Career statistics
- As of match played 21 May 2023[2]
| 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]
