Mbappé, Messi and Neymar in the running for the FIFA ‘The Best’ Trophy
After facing each other in the World Cup final, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé will contend for FIFA The Best Trophy for the best player of the year 2022, the shortlist for which was unveiled on Thursday. Neymar, the third member of Paris Saint-Germain’s “MNM” also appears in the nominations as Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Norwegian prodigy Erling Haaland or Croatian Luka Modric. The result will be revealed on February 27.
Among the women, the Spanish voice actress Alexia Putellas Ballon d’Or, the English Beath Mead or the Australian Sam Kerr. For the best manager trophy, World Cup finalists Didier Deschamps (France) and Lionel Scaloni (Argentina) will face Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Champions League winner with Real Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti and Morocco manager Walid Regragui, fourth in the World Cup and winner of the African Champions League with Wydad Casablanca.
The International Federation also awards the best coach, best goalkeeper and best goalkeeper, and also provides a fan trophy and the Puskas award for goal of the year, for which Kylian Mbappé, for his volley in the world final , or the heel of the English Alessia Russo in the semifinals of the Euro. Football fans can vote online until 3 February at 11.59pm Paris time. In early February 2023, FIFA will announce the three finalists in each category.
List of candidates in alphabetical order:
Players:
Aitana Bonmatí (Spain – FC Barcelona)
Debinha (Brazil – North Carolina Courage)
Jessie Fleming (Canada-Chelsea)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway – Olympique Lyonnais)
Sam Kerr (Australia-Chelsea)
Beth Mead (England – Arsenal)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands – Arsenal)
Alex Morgan (USA – Orlando Pride and San Diego Wave)
Lena Oberdorf (Germany – Wolfsburg)
Alexandra Popp (Germany – Wolfsburg)
Alexia Putellas (Spain – FC Barcelona)
Wendie Renard (France – Olympique Lyonnais)
Keira Walsh (England – Manchester City & FC Barcelona)
Leah Williamson (England – Arsenal)
Players:
Julián Álvarez (Argentina – River Plate and Manchester City)
Jude Bellingham (England – Borussia Dortmund)
Karim Benzema (France-Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium – Manchester City)
Erling Haaland (Norway – Borussia Dortmund & Manchester City)
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco – Paris Saint-Germain)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland – FC Bayern Munich & FC Barcelona)
Sadio Mané (Senegal – Liverpool & Bayern Munich)
Kylian Mbappe (France – Paris Saint-Germain)
Lionel Messi (Argentina – Paris Saint-Germain)
Luka Modric (Croatia – Real Madrid)
Neymar (Brazil – Paris Saint-Germain)
Mohamed Salah (Egypt – Liverpool)
Vinicius Junior (Brazil – Real Madrid)
Coaches:
Sonia Bompastor (France – Olympique Lyonnais)
Emma Hayes (England – Chelsea)
Bev Priestman (England – Canada)
Pia Sundhage (Sweden – Brazil)
Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany – Germany)
Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands – England and the Netherlands)
Coaches:
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy-Real Madrid)
Didier Deschamps (France – France)
Pep Guardiola (Spain – Manchester City)
Walid Regragui (Morocco – Wydad Casablanca and Morocco)
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina – Argentina)
Babysitter:
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany – Chelsea)
Mary Earps (England – Manchester United)
Christiane Endler (Chile – Olympique Lyonnais)
Merle Frohms (Germany – Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg)
Alyssa Naeher (USA – Chicago Red Stars)
Sandra Paños García-Villamil (Spain – FC Barcelona)
Guardians:
Alisson Becker (Brazil – Liverpool)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco – Sevilla FC)
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium – Real Madrid)
Ederson (Brazil – Manchester City)
Emiliano Martínez (Argentina – Aston Villa)
Puskás Award for best goal:
Mario Balotelli (Italy): Adana Demirspor – Göztepe Izmir (May 22, 2022)
Amandine Henry (France): FC Barcelona – Olympique Lyonnais (May 21, 2022)
Théo Hernández (France): Milan – Atalanta Bergamo (May 15, 2022)
Alou Kuol (Australia): Iraq v Australia U23 (4 June 2022)
Kylian Mbappé (France): Argentina – France (December 18, 2022)
Francisco González Metilli (Argentina): Central Córdoba – Rosario Central (1 August 2022)
Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznan – Stal Rzeszów (6 November 2022)
Salma Paralluelo (Spain): FC Barcelona – Villarreal (2 April 2022)
Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille – PAOK Thessaloniki (7 April 2022)
Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil – Serbia (November 24, 2022)
Alessia Russo (England): England vs Sweden (26 July 2022)
BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Olimpique Lyonnais
MANCHESTER UNITED
