FIFA has revealed the candidates shortlisted for The Best FIFA Football Awards™ 2022. Fresh from their brilliant performances at the World Cup, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are among the nominees for FIFA’s The Best award for last year, world football’s governing body announced on Thursday.Messi, who has won the prize once before, captained Argentina to victory in Qatar, a career-defining triumph that has boosted his chances of winning an eighth Ballon d’Or but may also make him favourite for this prize.As well as Mbappe, who netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final, another two Paris Saint-Germain players are nominated in Neymar and Achraf Hakimi.Karim Benzema, who won last year’s Ballon d’Or for his performances with Real Madrid, is also nominated, as is Robert Lewandowski, winner of the FIFA prize in the last two years.The list of nominees is completed by Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland; the Real Madrid pair of Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior; Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Jude Bellingham.Borussia Dortmund star Youssoufa Moukoko ‘caught up in age fraud stormAlexia Putellas is nominated for the women’s award despite being out for the last six months due to injury.The Barcelona and Spain midfielder won the award last year and retained the Ballon d’Or in October.Arsenal striker Beth Mead, runner-up to Putellas for the Ballon d’Or, is also nominated, as are two other members of the England team that won the European Championship on home soil in Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh. There are also prizes for the best male and female coach, the best goalkeeper, and the Puskas Award for the best goal of 2022.A public vote, open until February 3, will decide the three finalists in each category. The winner is then voted for by a jury made up of national team coaches and captains as well as journalists and fans.Two expert panels selected the candidates for the players’, goalkeepers’ and coaches’ categories.The nominees are listed below in alphabetical order:The Best FIFA Women’s PlayerAitana 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 Men’s PlayerJulián 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 Coach ##NAJAVA_MECA_6937448##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 CoachCarlo 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 GoalkeeperAnn-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 GoalkeeperÁlisson 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)The FIFA Puskás AwardMario 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)The Best FIFA Fan AwardAbdullah Al Salmi (Saudi Arabia): Abdullah journeyed by foot from his hometown of Jeddah to Qatar, hiking across the Saudi Arabian desert, to support his national team at the FIFA World Cup.Argentinian National Team fans (Argentina): Argentina fans travelled to Qatar in impressive numbers to provide incredible support for their team’s ultimately victorious FIFA World Cup campaign, and millions of fans then welcomed their heroes home to Buenos Aires and across the country.Japanese National Team fans (Japan): Japan fans earned worldwide recognition for their tradition of staying behind to help clean the stadium after World Cup games.Additional reporting by AFP
