Shock waves hit some quarters of the footballing world as Vinicius Junior didn’t make the FIFPro World XI shortlist in attack.
Vinicius Junior had an excellent 2022, but he didn’t make the cut of players selected by other professional footballers, despite his excellence in attack throughout the year 2022.
The selection process takes into consideration the performances of players from the 8th of August, 2021 to the 18th of December, 2022.
He scored 22 goals in the 2021/22 season and he has also scored 16 goals so far in the 2022/23 season.
The nominees for the 2022 FIFPro World XI were released on Monday afternoon with active footballers themselves taking responsibility for the selection of the best performing footballers from 2022.
Five players of Real Madrid made the shortlist with names like Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde and Antonio Rudiger completing the five (5) men from The Blancos side.
Great heights hit by Vinicius Junior in 2022
Vinicius Junior won notable trophies with Real Madrid in 2022 as he won the La Liga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.
Individual perks to his name for 2022 includes being part of the XI for the 2022 UEFA Champions League team of the season in addition to winning the UEFA Champions League young player of the season award.
Additionally, He made the XI for the La Liga team of the season alongside scoring a decisive goal that swayed the UEFA Champions League trophy to the White Angels path.
The Brazilian winger scored twenty-one (21) goals and made eighteen (18) assists throughout the course of the year.
2022 was widely presumed as Vinicius Junior’s best year so far in his career but unfortunately his wonderful year couldn’t be capped with an inclusion in the FIFPro World XI.
The final XI comes out on the 27th of February, 2023
The final eleven of the 2022 FIFPro World XI comes out on the 27th of February, 2023 at the FIFA The Best Awards gala.
The goalkeeper alongside three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with the most votes go directly into the FIFPro Best XI with an additional player added via votes as well.
It would take time for many to digest the possible reasons why Vinicius Junior didn’t make the shortlist in a year the Brazilian winger was like a burning furnace.
Vinicius was a key component in Madrid’s upward surge that period of time and he played an important role in the titles won by Real Madrid across that timeframe.
The entire list of 26 players nominated by FIFPro are:
Goalkeepers: Courtois, Emiliano Martínez and Alisson.
Defenders: Rudiger, Theo Hernández, Hakimi, Cancelo, Davies, Van Dijk, Gvardiol and Thiago Silva.
Midfielders: Modric, Valverde, Casemiro, De Bruyne, Enzo, Bellingham, Pedri and Gavi.
Strikers: Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappe, Haaland, Neymar Jr, Messi and Lewandowski.
It would be interesting to see which players makes up the XI from a plethora of incredible names littered across the shortlist.
