Malcom not added to UAE squad for Gulf Cup despite naturalisation reports

Reports claiming Brazilian forward Malcom has obtained Emirati citizenship and will join the UAE squad for the Gulf Cup are untrue, with no official announcement confirming his inclusion.

The 27th Arabian Gulf Cup begins in Saudi Arabia tomorrow, with the UAE drawn in Group B alongside Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen.

Malcom joined Al Jazira from Al Hilal in August after an impressive spell with the Saudi club. However, there has been no confirmation from the UAE Football Association that the player has been granted citizenship or added to the squad.

The 28-year-old has represented Brazil up to Olympic level, but he has not been named in the UAE’s officially announced Gulf Cup selection.

Zlatko Dalic announced a 26-man squad for the tournament several days ago. Although claims circulated on social media in the hours that followed that Malcom had been added, neither the player nor Al Jazira has announced such a move or confirmed that he will take part in the competition.

The UAE Football Association published a report today confirming that the national team delegation had arrived in Jeddah for the tournament. The report, headed “Our national team delegation arrives in Jeddah to participate in the 27th Gulf Cup”, made no reference to any change to the squad.

The UAE squad is:

Goalkeepers: Fahad Al Dhahani, Khalid Eisa, Hamad Al Mqabali.

Defenders: Robin Felipe, Lucas Pimenta, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Marcus Meloni, Alaa Al Din Zuhair, Eric Menzes, Khalid Al Dhahani, Zayed Al Ameri, Sasha Ivkovic.

Midfielders: Fabio Lima, Issam Faiz, Luan Pereira, Harib Abdullah, Nicolas Gimenez, Abdullah Hamad, Mamadou Coulibaly.

Forwards: Othman Kamara, Ali Saleh, Bala Guilheram, Richard Aconor, Bruno Oliveira, Yuri Cesar, Sultan Adel.