FIFA, the global governing body of football, has released the list for The BEST football awards, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar among favourites in the Men’s Player section..
However, Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo is missing from the list after a rather unimpressive campaign in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, 2022. The 37-year-old scored just one goal in the tournament, from the spot, and ended the tournament with an elimination by Morocco in the quarterfinal.
Argentina, which won its third FIFA World Cup after 36 years in Qatar 2022, has two players, Messi and Julian Alvarez, among nominees in the 14-member list. Alvarez, playing his first World Cup, scored four goals in the tournament, while Messi, the captain, led the scoring charts (for his country) with seven goals.
Here is the entire list for nominees in the Men’s Player section:
- Julián Álvarez (Argentina / Club Atlético River Plate / Manchester City FC)
- Jude Bellingham (England / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund)
- Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium / Manchester City FC)
- Erling Haaland (Norway / BV Borussia 09 Dortmund / Manchester City FC)
- Achraf Hakimi (Morocco / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
- Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München / FC Barcelona)
- Sadio Mané (Senegal / Liverpool FC / FC Bayern München)
- Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC )
- Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
- Luka Modrić (Croatia / Real Madrid CF)
- Neymar (Brazil / Paris Saint-Germain FC)
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt / Liverpool FC)
- Vinícius Junior (Brazil / Real Madrid CF)
Both head coaches of the teams that made it to the FIFA World Cup 2022, Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) and Didier Deschamps (France) are among the five coaches nominate for the best Men’s football coach, with Pep Guardiola, Carlos Ancelotti and Walid Regragui completing the list.
Regragui steered Morocco to its first-ever semifinal in the World Cup.
Mbappe, Richarlison headline nominees for Puskas Award
The nominees for the best goal of the year, the Puskas Award, has some of the most iconic goals from the 2022 World Cup, with Richarlison’s overhead kick against Serbia and Kylian Mbappe’s late equaliser among the 12-goal list.
Entire list for The FIFA Puskás Award:
- Mario Balotelli (Italy): Adana Demirspor v. Göztepe Spor Kulübü [Süper Lig] (22 May 2022)
- Amandine Henry (France): FC Barcelona v. Olympique Lyonnais [UEFA Women’s Champions League] (21 May 2022)
- Théo Hernández (France): AC Milan v. Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, [Serie A] (15 May 2022)
- Alou Kuol (Australia): Iraq U23 v. Australia U23 [AFC U23 Asian Cup] (4 June 2022)
- Kylian Mbappé (France): Argentina v. France [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™] (18 December 2022)
- Francisco González Metilli (Argentina): Club Atlético Central Córdoba v. Club Atlético Rosario Central [Primera División] (1 August 2022)
- Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznań v. Stal Rzeszów [PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa] (6 November 2022)
- Salma Paralluelo (Spain): FC Barcelona v. Villarreal CF [Liga F] (2 April 2022)
- Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille v. PAOK Thessaloniki FC [UEFA Europa Conference League] (7 April 2022)
- Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil v. Serbia [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (24 November 2022)
- Alessia Russo (England): England v. Sweden [UEFA Women’s EURO 2022] (26 July 2022)
No Lloris in The Best Men’s goalkeeper nominees
Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and Champions League winner Thibaut Courtois are among the five nominees for The Best Men’s goalkeeper, with Yassine Bounou earning a nomination after his World Cup heroics in Qatar.
Both Brazil goalkeepers, Ederson and Alisson Becker, are the other two in the race for the best goalkeeper, while French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who made it to consecutive World Cup finals, was missing on the list.
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