Alexia Putellas, among the finalists for The Best for the second consecutive year

FIFA announced the finalists for The Best award this Friday, including Barcelona player Alexia Putellas and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

Among the three candidates to win the award this year in the different categories are also Messi, world champion in Qatar, and Benzema, Ballon d'Or in 2022. Thibaut Courtois, Real Madrid goalkeeper, and Yassine Bounou, from Sevilla, are nominated in the category of best goalkeeper.

The Best awards, which are awarded taking into account the votes of journalists, coaches, captains and fans, will be delivered on February 27.

These are the finalists for The Best award in each category:

The Best FIFA Player

Karim Benzema, from Real Madrid, and Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, from PSG, are the three finalists for The Best award, which recognizes the most outstanding players between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022. Benzema opts for the award after winning the last edition of the "Ballon d'Or" and signing a great season, in which the white team won its fourteenth Champions League and the Frenchman scored 44 goals.

However, the striker could not participate in the World Cup in Qatar due to an injury that forced him to leave the concentration.

Messi lifted the World Cup on December 18 and was named best player of the tournament, making the Argentine the favorite to win the award this year.

Mbappé, for his part, was a finalist in Qatar, where he was defeated by Argentina,

although the striker became the first player in 56 years to score a hat trick in a World Cup final.

In addition, the Frenchman won the Qatar Golden Boot thanks to the 8 goals he scored in the competition.

The Best to the FIFA player

The Spanish Alexia Putellas, from Barcelona, ​​Beth Mead, from Arsenal and Alex Morgan, from the San Diego Wave, are the finalists for The Best FIFA Women's Player Award 2022. In the case of female players, the award recognizes the performance of the players between August 7, 2021 and July 31, 2022. Putellas was the winner of the award last year, in addition to winning the Ballon d'Or the last two editions.

The Barcelona player won the League title and was runner-up and top scorer in the Women's Champions League in the 21/22 season, in which she also scored 34 goals in all competitions.

A torn ligament in her knee in July has kept her off the pitch ever since.

If the Spaniard wins the award, she will be the first player to win the distinction two years in a row.

Mead has many ballots to win the award.

The English player won the Golden Boot at the Women's Euro Cup in 2022, in addition to lifting the title and being named the best player of the tournament.

The American Alex Morgan was the second in The Best in 2019. The San Diego player was the top scorer in the American League last season, with 15 goals.

She was also the top scorer in the 2022 CONCACAF, where she lifted the championship and best player trophy.

Puskas Award

Richarlison, Marcin Oleksy and Dimitri Payet are nominated for this year's Puskas Award, an award that recognizes the best goal of the year.

Richarlison, Tottenham striker, is nominated thanks to the spectacular volley goal he scored in the match between Brazil and Serbia in the World Cup in Qatar.

The goal earned the Brazilian the goal of the championship award.

Poland's Oleksy, a left-leg amputee for Warta Poznan, scored one of the best goals of the year with a scissor in the Polish Amputee League match against Stal Rzeszow.

The Olympique de Marseille player Dimitri Payet completes the list.

The Frenchman earned the nomination for his goal from outside the area in the Conference League game against PAOK Thessaloniki.

The Best to the FIFA coach

Carlo Ancelotti, from Real Madrid, Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach, and Pep Guardiola, from Manchester City, are the nominees for the best FIFA coach.

The Real Madrid coach has earned the nomination after the great performance of the white team last season.

The team won the League and lifted its fourteenth Champions League, the fourth for the Italian coach.

Scaloni is among the finalists after having led Argentina to victory in the World Cup held in Qatar in 2022. The albiceleste won their third World Cup after a great championship.

Scaloni's men rallied after losing to Saudi Arabia in the first group game and won the tournament after beating France on penalties after a goal-packed final.

Spaniard Pep Guardiola guided Manchester City to its fourth Premier League win in five seasons, in which the team scored 99 goals.

The coach also came close to reaching his second successive Champions League final, but Real Madrid's comeback late in the second game of the semi-final snatched victory.

The Best for FIFA Women's Coach

Lyon's Sonia Bompastor, Brazil coach Pia Sundhage and England coach Sarina Wiegman are the three finalists for The Best for Best Women's Coach.

Bompastor led the French team to win the League title and the Women's Champions League last season, her first as a coach.

Lyon won 21 of their 22 league games, the other tied.

In addition, the team beat Barcelona in the Champions League final, scoring 3 goals in the first half hour of the game.

Swedish Pia Sundhage, Brazil's coach, won the Copa América Femenina in 2022, in which the South American team scored 20 goals in six games and did not concede a single goal against.

Sarina Wiegman, England coach, has earned her place among the finalists by leading the English team to lift the 2022 Women's Euro Cup.

Wiegman, who has already won The Best in 2017 and 2020, has not lost a game since taking charge of the England team.

Las Leonas have 22 wins and four draws after 26 games.

The Best to the FIFA goalkeeper

Yassine Bounou, from Sevilla, Thibaut Courtois, from Real Madrid, and Emiliano Martínez, from Aston Villa, are the finalists for The Best FIFA goalkeeper award.

Bounou, goalkeeper for Sevilla and the Moroccan team, earned a place among the nominees for his performance during the World Cup in Qatar.

Bounou was a key player for Morocco in the championship, conceding only one goal until the semifinal, where he conceded two goals, and saved two penalties against Spain in the round of 16.

In addition, the Sevilla goalkeeper was the least thrashed in the League last season.

Courtois had a great performance last season, in which he won the League and the Champions League, which earned him the Yashin Trophy as the best goalkeeper of the season.

The Best to the FIFA goalkeeper

Chelsea's Ann-Katrin Berger, Manchester United's Mary Earps and Lyon's Christiane Endler are up for The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award.

Berger's story reflects the strength of the soccer player.

During the 2022 Women's Euro Cup, the German goalkeeper was again diagnosed with cancer, after having been in remission for four years.

Despite everything, Berger continued to play the tournament with Germany, which reached the final of the tournament where they lost to England.

She also played for Chelsea, winning the Women's Super League and the FA Cup.

Earps has earned a place among the finalists for The Best after a great Eurocup.

The English goalkeeper won the competition, where she only conceded two goals and kept a clean sheet four times.

Endler was the winner of The Best for the best goalkeeper last year and aspires to repeat this year.

The Chilean goalkeeper changed PSG for Olympique de Lyon in the summer of 2021 and with her new team she won the French League and the Champions League, after defeating Barcelona.

Endler conceded just eight goals in the 22 games she played for Lyon.

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