BERLIN, Jan 13 — Football governing body FIFA on Thursday revealed the candidates shortlisted for the 2022 The Best, which has Qatar World Cup champion Lionel Messi as favourite to take the men’s award.
Messi is on a list with 13 other players, among them 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, two-time The Best winner Robert Lewandowski and Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe, reported German Press Agency (dpa).
Manchester City top scorer Erling Haaland, Brazilian duo Neymar and Vinicius Junior and Croatia star Luka Modric are also on the list.
Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni, meanwhile, was nominated for the best coach award, alongside Qatar World Cup runner-up Didier Deschamps of France, Real Madrid’s boss Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.
Walid Regragui, who led Morocco to a fairytale campaign in Qatar, was also nominated. Under his watch, they became the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
On the women’s side, Barcelona striker Alexa Putellas will have a chance to retain her 2021 trophy but there will be tough competition with Euro 2022 winner Keira Walsh of England.
Among the candidates are also Norway’s Ada Hegerberg, Germany striker Alexandra Popp and Alex Morgan of the United States.
FIFA will announce the three finalists in each category early February and the award ceremony is to take place on February 27.
— Bernama
