FIFA announced the finalists for The Best award this Friday, including Barcelona player Alexia Putellas and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Messi, world champion in Qatar, and Benzema, Ballon d’Or in 2022, are also among the three candidates to win the award this year in the different categories. Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid goalkeeper, and Yassine Bounou from Seville are also present nominates the category of the best goalkeeper. The Best Awards, which are based on the votes of journalists, coaches, captains and fans, will be presented on February 27th.
These are the finalists for The Best award in each category:
The best FIFA player
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and PSG’s Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi are the three finalists for The Best award, which recognizes the most outstanding players between 8 August 2021 and 18 December 2022. Benzema opts for the award after winning the latest edition of the “Ballon d’Or” and signing a great season in which the white team won their fourteenth Champions League and the Frenchman scored 44 goals. However, the striker was unable to take part in the World Cup in Qatar due to an injury that forced him to lose concentration. Messi won the World Cup on December 18 and was named player of the tournament, making the Argentine the favorite for this year’s award. For his part, Mbappé was a finalist in Qatar, where he was defeated by Argentina, although the striker became the first player in 56 years to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final. In addition, the Frenchman won the Qatar Golden Boot thanks to the 8 goals he scored in the competition.
The best for the FIFA player
Spain’s Alexia Putellas from Barcelona, Beth Mead from Arsenal and Alex Morgan from San Diego Wave are the finalists for The Best FIFA Women’s Player Award 2022. For women players, the award recognizes the performance of the players between 7th and 7th June 2022. August 2021 and July 31, 2022. Putellas was the winner of the award last year and has won the Ballon d’Or in the last two editions. The Barcelona player won the league title and finished runners-up and top scorer in the Women’s Champions League in the 21/22 season, where she also scored 34 goals in all competitions. A torn ligament in her knee in July has kept her away from the pitch ever since. If the Spaniard wins the award, she will become the first player to win the award two years in a row. Mead has many ballots to win the award. The Englishwoman won the Golden Boot at the 2022 Women’s Euro Cup, clinching the title and being named Player of the Tournament. American Alex Morgan was runner-up at The Best in 2019. The San Diego player was the American League’s top scorer with 15 goals last season. She was also CONCACAF’s top scorer in 2022, where she won the championship and the trophy for best player.
Puskas Prize
Richarlison, Marcin Oleksy and Dimitri Payet are nominated for this year’s Puskas Award, an award that recognizes the best goal of the year. Tottenham forward Richarlison was selected thanks to his spectacular volley he scored in the match between Brazil and Serbia at the World Cup in Qatar. The goal earned the Brazilian the championship goal. Poland’s Oleksy, a left leg amputee from Warta Poznan, scored one of the best goals of the year with a scissors in the Polish Amputee League match against Stal Rzeszow. Olympique de Marseille player Dimitri Payet completes the list. The Frenchman earned the nomination for his goal from outside the box in the Conference League game against PAOK Thessaloniki.
The best thing about the FIFA coach
Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelotti, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola are the nominees for FIFA Best Coach. The Real Madrid boss earned the nomination after the white team’s superb performance last season. The team won the league and won its fourteenth Champions League, the fourth for the Italian coach. Scaloni is among the finalists after guiding Argentina to victory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Albiceleste won their third world championship after a great championship. Scaloni’s men bounced back after losing to Saudi Arabia in the first group game and won the tournament after beating France on penalties after a high-scoring final. Spaniard Pep Guardiola led Manchester City to their fourth Premier League win in five seasons in which the team scored 99 goals. The manager also came close to reaching his second consecutive Champions League final but Real Madrid’s comeback late in the second game of the semifinals gave him the win.
The best for FIFA women’s coaches
Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor, Brazil coach Pia Sundhage and England coach Sarina Wiegman are the three finalists for The Best for Best Women’s Coach. Bompastor led the French side to winning the league and the Women’s Champions League last season, her first as a coach. Lyon have won 21 of their 22 league games, with the others drawn. In addition, the team beat Barcelona in the Champions League final, scoring 3 goals in the first half hour of the game. Sweden’s Pia Sundhage, Brazil’s coach, won the 2022 Copa América Femenina, in which the South American team scored 20 goals in six games and didn’t concede a single goal. Sarina Wiegman, the England manager, earned her place among the finalists by guiding the England team to win the Women’s Euro Cup in 2022. Wiegman, who has previously won The Best in 2017 and 2020, has not lost a game since taking charge of the England team. Las Leonas has 22 wins and four draws after 26 games.
The best thing about the FIFA goalkeeper
Seville’s Yassine Bounou, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martínez are the finalists for The Best FIFA Goalkeeper Award. Bounou, goalkeeper of both Seville and the Moroccan team, has earned a place among the nominees for his performance during the World Cup in Qatar. Bounou was a key player for Morocco in the league, conceding just one goal until the semi-finals where he conceded twice and saved two penalties against Spain in the round of 16. Also, the Sevilla goalkeeper was the least beaten in the league last season. Courtois had a great performance last season in which he won LaLiga and Champions League which earned him the Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper of the season. Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez has earned a spot among the finalists after winning the 2022 World Championship. The Argentine goalkeeper accepted the trophy for the championship’s best goalkeeper, specifically for his work stopping penalties against the Dutch sides and France.
The best thing about the FIFA goalkeeper
Chelsea’s Ann-Katrin Berger, Manchester United’s Mary Earps and Lyon’s Christiane Endler are all competing for The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award. Berger’s story reflects the strength of the footballer. At the 2022 European Women’s Championship, the German goalkeeper was diagnosed with cancer again after four years in remission. Despite everything, Berger continued playing the tournament with Germany reaching the final of the tournament where they lost to England. She also played for Chelsea, winning the Women’s Super League and the FA Cup. Earps earned a spot among the finalists for The Best after a great Eurocup. The England goalkeeper won the competition, conceding just two goals and keeping four clean sheets. Endler was last year’s winner of The Best for best goalkeeper and is aiming to repeat this year. The Chilean goalkeeper joined Olympique de Lyon from PSG in the summer of 2021 and won the French league and Champions League with her new team after defeating Barcelona. Endler conceded just eight goals in the 22 games he played for Lyon.
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