FIFA Awards 2023: FIFA revealed the names of the Best Player of the Year 2022 on Friday, and Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Karim Benzema were the three players selected to make the shortlist. Messi’s exceptional performance in the World Cup as the Argentine captain, led his team to their first World Cup victory in 36 years. Mbappe, who was also a shining star in the final, and Benzema’s impressive run in the Champions League earned them their nominations. The winners of the award will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on February 27th.
Women’s nominated for FIFA Awards 2023
In the Best Women’s Player category, the shortlist includes Beth Mead of England, Alex Morgan of the United States, and Alexia Putellas of Spain. These awards will be determined by a separate global voting panel. The competition is expected to be intense between PSG teammates Messi and Mbappe, with Messi favored to receive his seventh Best FIFA Men’s Player award and Mbappe seeking his first win.
It’s worth noting that Messi won his six previous awards when it was known as the FIFA World Player of the Year (2009), the FIFA Ballon d’Or in each year from 2010-2012 and then again in 2015, and finally the Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2019. Meanwhile, Mbappe makes his first appearance on the shortlist, though he was fourth in the voting for the 2018 award. In the past three years, he has placed sixth, seventh, and eighth in the voting.
Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or last year
On the other hand, Robert Lewandowski won the FIFA award in the past two years, while Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or award organized by France Football magazine in October. The France forward missed the World Cup due to injury, and Messi was not on the long list of Ballon d’Or candidates announced in August.
Beth Mead, who led England to the Euro 2022 title as the tournament’s joint top scorer and was named its best player, suffered a serious knee injury in November playing for Arsenal and may miss the Women’s World Cup in July, which will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Alex Morgan, who was the player of the tournament when the US won the CONCACAF W Championship last year, was also the joint top scorer and placed second in the 2019 vote for Best Women’s Player, just behind her teammate Megan Rapinoe.
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