Wilson Eduardo


Wilson Bruno Naval da Costa Eduardo is a footballer who plays for Emirati club Al Ain FC as a forward.
He was formed at Sporting, but spent most of his time out on loan. In 2015, he joined Braga.
Eduardo played for Portugal at youth level, but switched to Angola in 2019.

Club career

Sporting

Eduardo was born in Pedras Rubras, Maia. After starting his football grooming with local FC Porto he finished it at Sporting CP, joining the latter's youth system at the age of 14. In 2009–10 he made his senior debut, splitting the season between Real SC and Portimonense SC and being a relatively important part as the Algarve side returned to the Primeira Liga after a 20-year absence.
In the 2010–11 campaign, still on loan, Eduardo joined S.C. Beira-Mar, also recently promoted from the second level. He made his competition debut on 15 August 2010, coming from the bench in a 0–0 home draw against U.D. Leiria; two weeks later, as the Aveiro team defeated Académica de Coimbra 2–1, he scored his first goal in the top flight.
Eduardo was again loaned by Sporting for 2012–13, to Académica. On 8 November 2012 he netted twice – one of his goals coming through a second-half penalty – in a 2–0 home win against Atlético Madrid in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.
Eduardo finally made his Sporting debut on 18 August 2013 in the first game of the new season, starting and scoring in a 5–1 home win over F.C. Arouca. On 6 April 2014 he dropped into the reserves who competed in division two, netting the decider in a 2–1 success at C.D. Feirense.
Eduardo moved abroad for the first time on 20 July, being loaned to Croatian First Football League champions GNK Dinamo Zagreb, and made 17 overall appearances for the capital team, scoring in a 2–0 win over NK Istra 1961 on 13 September. On 30 January 2015, he switched to assist ADO Den Haag for the remainder of the Eredivisie campaign.

Braga

Eduardo ended his 11-year association with Sporting on 31 August 2015, moving to Paulo Fonseca's S.C. Braga. He made his debut 17 days later in a Europa League group match away to FC Slovan Liberec, replacing Crislan for the final 28 minutes of a 1–0 win, and contributed two goals in ten games as they reached the quarter-finals as well as one in three in a victorious run in the Taça de Portugal; his only league goal of the season for the Minhotos came on 10 January 2016 to open a 2–3 loss on his return to the Estádio José Alvalade.
In 2018–19, Eduardo reached double figures for the first time in a league campaign, scoring 13 times while partnered with Dyego Sousa up front. On 6 October 2018, he was one of five people – including three non-playing members of staff – sent off in the closing stages of a 1–1 home draw against Rio Ave FC, being issued a straight red card after the final whistle and on his way to the changing room.

Al-Ain

On 16 July 2020, Eduardo signed a two-year contract with Al Ain FC of the UAE Pro League.

International career

All youth levels comprised, Eduardo earned 61 caps for Portugal and scored 26 goals. In 2013, he rejected to play for the Angola senior team.
Eduardo went back on his decision in 2019, scoring on his debut against Botswana in a 1–0 away victory for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on 22 March. He was called up by manager Srđan Vasiljević for the tournament in Egypt, and played all three games of a group stage exit.

Personal life

Eduardo's younger brother, João Mário, is also a footballer. A midfielder, he too graduated from Sporting's youth academy.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.22 March 2019Francistown Stadium, Francistown, Botswana1–01–02019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification
2.13 November 2019Estádio 11 de Novembro, Luanda, Angola1–01–32021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification

Honours

Dinamo Zagreb
Braga