World champion and captain of the Argentine national team, forward Lionel Messi, as well as the French Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe were finalists for the Best of 2022 award, FIFA announced on Friday.
According to the world football organization, the award “is given to outstanding players between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022” and the next winner will be announced in Paris on February 27.
A total of 14 players were nominated for the award by a panel of experts, with the list, as is customary, narrowed down to three finalists selected by coaches, team captains, journalists and fans.
Messi, who holds the record for most trophies, with six awards between 2009 and 2019, four of which were jointly awarded the France Football Ballon d’Or, is nominated again in a very happy season for the Argentine.
The Paris Saint-Germain striker won the world title with Argentina in December, in a competition in which he was also voted the best player.
The final list included two Frenchmen, Mbpape, the losing 2022 World Cup finalist who scored a “hat-trick” in the final (3-3, 4-2 on penalties) and became the tournament’s top scorer (eight goals). ) and Benzema.
The Real Madrid striker left the national team with an injury and ended up out of the French campaign, but he managed a season in which he again became the European champion and in which he was already consecrated as the Golden Ball in October last year. .
Among women, FIFA announced that Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave) and Alexia Putellas (Barcelona) were finalists in the best players category, while Sonia Bompastor (Lyon), Pia Sandheydzh (Brazil coach) and Sarina Wigmann (England coach) are up for the title of best coach.
Still coached by Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Lionel Scaloni (Argentina national team) and Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid) are the men’s finalists.
In the goalkeeping category, the candidates are Moroccan Yassine Bounou, Belgian Thibaut Courtois and Argentinean Emiliano Martinez, and in the women’s category German Ann-Catherine Berger, Englishwoman Mary Earps and Frenchwoman Christiane Endler.
Finally, in the race for the Puskas prize, who is destined to award the best goal, the Brazilian Richarlison, the Frenchman Dimitri Payet and the Polish football amputee Marcin Oleksi participate.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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