BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020: Here are the full shortlisted players, Others

World football governing body, FIFA, has released the names of those nominated for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020. The list of the male category of the best footballer of the year contains the usual suspects, Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.

The award which started in 2016, recognizes the best footballers, males and females, best coaches, best goalkeepers, and the most beautiful goal of the year. FIFA introduced the award after the world football governing body dissociated itself from the prestigious Ballon d’Or.

The first BEST FIFA Football Award for the male category was given to Cristiano Ronaldo on 9 January 2017 in Zurich, Switzerland. After that, the Portugal international won it one more time to become the highest recipient of the award ahead of his career rival, Lionel Messi who won it once in 2019.

This year’s edition which will take place in December 2020 is expected to be a stiffer competition among Messi, Ronaldo, and Bayern Munich striker, Robert Lewandowski. The three stars topped the list of 11 male footballers shortlisted for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020.

Football fans will be allowed to vote for the 11 shortlisted players until December 9 after which the three players with the highest number of votes will be presented as the three finalists for the award on 11 December 2020.

Unlike in the first edition of the award, this year’s edition of BEST FIFA Football Awards is scheduled to take place on December 17 and about 7 categories of people will be awarded on the award night.

Below are the 11 male players shortlisted for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020:

1. Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus)
3. Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich)
4. Kevin de Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City)
5. Thiago Alcantara (Spain/Bayern Munich, Liverpool)
6. Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool)
7. Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain)
8. Neymar (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
9. Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid)
10. Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool)
11. Virgil van Dijk (The Netherlands/Liverpool)

11 female players shortlisted for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020:

1. Lucy Bronze (England / Olympique Lyonnais / Manchester City WFC)
2. Delphine Cascarino (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
3. Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway / FC Barcelona)
4. Pernille Harder (Denmark / VfL Wolfsburg / Chelsea FC Women)
5. Jennifer Hermoso (Spain / FC Barcelona)
6. Ji So-Yun (Korea Republic / Chelsea FC Women)
7. Sam Kerr (Australia / Chelsea FC Women)
8. Saki Kumagai (Japan / Olympique Lyonnais)
9. Dzsenifer Marozsán (Germany / Olympique Lyonnais)
10. Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands / Arsenal WFC)
11. Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais)

Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper:

1. Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany / Chelsea FC Women)
2. Sarah Bouhaddi (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
3. Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain)
4. Hedvig Lindahl (Sweden / VfL Wolfsburg / Atlético de Madrid Femenino)
5. Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)
6. Ellie Roebuck (England / Manchester City WFC)

Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:

1. Alisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
2. Thibaut Courtois (Belgium / Real Madrid CF)
3. Keylor Navas (Costa Rica / Paris Saint-Germain)
4. Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
5. Jan Oblak (Slovenia / Atlético de Madrid)
6. Marc-André ter Stegen (Germany / FC Barcelona)

Women’s Coaches shortlisted for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020:

1. Lluís Cortés (Spain / FC Barcelona)
2. Rita Guarino (Italy / Juventus Women)
3. Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
4. Stephan Lerch (Germany / VfL Wolfsburg)
5. Hege Riise (Norway / LSK Kvinner)
6. Jean-Luc Vasseur (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
7. Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team)

Men’s Coaches shortlisted for BEST FIFA Football Awards 2020:

1. Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina / Leeds United FC)
2. Hans-Dieter Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München)
3. Jürgen Klopp (Germany / Liverpool FC)
4. Julen Lopetegui (Spain / Sevilla FC)
5. Zinedine Zidane (France / Real Madrid CF)

FIFA Puskas Award

The FIFA Puskás Award is an award given to a male or female footballer, judged to have scored the most aesthetically significant, or “most beautiful”, goal of the calendar year.

Below are the nominees:

1. Shirley Cruz (CRC) – Costa Rica v. Panama [Concacaf Women’s Olympic qualifying] (28 January 2020)
2. Giorgian De Arrascaeta (URU) – Ceará SC v. CR Flamengo [Brasileirão – Brazil] (25 August 2019)
3. Jordan Flores (ENG) – Shamrock Rovers FC v. Dundalk FC [League of Ireland] (28 February 2020)
4. André-Pierre Gignac (FRA) – UANL Tigres v. Pumas UNAM [Liga MX – Mexico] (1 March 2020)
5. Sophie Ingle (WAL) – Arsenal WFC v. Chelsea FC Women [FA Women’s Super League – England] (19 January 2020)
6. Zlatko Junuzović (AUT) – SK Rapid Wien v. FC Red Bull Salzburg [Bundesliga – Austria] (24 June 2020)
7. Hlompho Kekana (RSA) – Mamelodi Sundowns FC v. Cape Town City FC [South African Premier Soccer League] (20 August 2019)
8. Son Heung min (KOR) – Tottenham Hotspur FC v. Burnley FC [Premier League – England] (7 December 2019)
9. Leonel Quiñónez (ECU) – Universidad Católica v. CSD Macará [Serie A – Ecuador] (19 August 2019)
10. Luis Suárez (URU) – FC Barcelona v. Real Mallorca [LaLiga – Spain] (7 December 2019)
11. Caroline Weir (SCO) – Manchester City WFC v. Manchester United WFC [FA Women’s Super League – England] (7 September 2019)