Guilherme Balla.. the secret weapon that leads the UAE national team’s brilliance in Gulf 27

(CNN) - The UAE national team is shining in the Gulf Cup tournament hosted by Saudi Arabia (Gulf 27), as it achieved two victories in the first two matches, scoring 7 goals, and without conceding any goals.

Amid the brilliance of the “Whites” in the tournament, player Guilherme Bala imposed his name as a secret weapon that Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic hid for the appropriate moment.

When the result of the UAE-Bahrain match indicated that “Al-Abyad” was ahead by a clean goal, Zlatko decided to use this weapon, which the Emirati fans were excited to see with the national team, after his brilliance in the local league with Shabab Al-Ahly Dubai.

It took only three minutes for Bala to enter the field in the 63rd minute, to score the second goal for the Emirates, and to make his first mark in the Gulf Championship.

In addition to the goal, Bala performed well, as he made several dribbles that caught attention and presented beautiful artistic glimpses during the confrontation that ended with a clean score for “Al-Abyad” against the defending champion.

Who is this prominent star in the ranks of the Emirates?

Bala's full name is Guilherme da Silva Gonçalves, and he was born on September 16, 2001, which means he is approximately 25 years old.

Bala began his football career with the Brazilian club Madureira, then joined the ranks of the Flamengo club for those under the age of 20 on loan, before returning to the ranks of his team and then moving from it to the Brazilian ranks Ferroviaria, and he remained in its ranks until 2012 when he moved to Shabab Al-Ahly.

The trip in the Emirates

Bala played 132 matches with Shabab Al-Ahly over the past five seasons and the current season in the ADNOC Professional League, scoring 38 goals and making 21 goals.

He won the league title with Shabab Al-Ahly twice in the 2023/2022 and 2025/2024 seasons.