*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17 May 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17 October 2019
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.
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]
^"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.