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 section.
However, Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, is missing from the list after a rather unimpressive campaign in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 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 quarterfinals.
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.
Both head coaches of the teams that made it to the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals, Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) and Didier Deschamps (France) are among the five coaches nominated 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 in the 2022 World Cup final among the 12-goal list.
See full list below:
* The Best FIFA Men’s Player:
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)
* The Best FIFA Women’s Player:
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Debinha (Brazil / North Carolina Courage)
Jessie Fleming (Canada / Chelsea FC Women)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway / Olympique Lyonnais)
Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women)
Beth Mead (England / Arsenal WFC)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC)
Alex Morgan (USA / Orlando Pride / San Diego Wave)
Lena Oberdorf (Germany / VfL Wolfsburg)
Alexandra Popp (Germany / VfL Wolfsburg)
Alexia Putellas (Spain / FC Barcelona)
Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
Keira Walsh (England / Manchester City WFC / FC Barcelona)
Leah Williamson (England / Arsenal WFC)
* The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
Sonia Bompastor (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
Bev Priestman (England / Canadian National Team)
Pia Sundhage (Sweden / Brazilian National Team)
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany / German National Team)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / English National Team)
* The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy / Real Madrid CF)
Didier Deschamps (France / French National Team)
Pep Guardiola (Spain / Manchester City FC)
Walid Regragui (Morocco / Wydad AC / Moroccan National Team)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina / Argentinian National Team)
* The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper:
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
Mary Earps (England / Manchester United WFC)
Christiane Endler (Chile / Olympique Lyonnais)
Merle Frohms (Germany / Eintracht Frankfurt / VfL Wolfsburg)
Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain / FC Barcelona)
* The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
Álisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco / Sevilla FC)
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid CF)
Ederson (Brazil / Manchester City FC)
Emiliano Martínez (Argentina / Aston Villa FC)
