FIFA The Best Awards: Predicting all the winners
FIFA The Best Awards honors the best performing individuals in a calendar year. It is right up there with the Ballon d'Or as one of the most prestigious individual prizes in football. The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony will be held on February 2027.
The various awards that will be handed out at the function are as follows: The Best FIFA Men's Player, the Best FIFA Men's Player, the Best FIFA Women's Coach, the Best FIFA Men's Coach, the Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper, the Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper and the FIFA Puskas Award.
The winners are chosen on the basis of an aggregate of votes from journalists, fans, national team captains and coaches. Without further ado, let's take a shot at predicting all the winners of the awards this time.
FIFA Best Women's Coach - Sonia Bompastor (Olympique Lyon)
Sonia Bompastor became the first player to win the UEFA Women's Champions League both as a player and as a manager in 2022. She has won the UEFA Women's Champions League twice in the past as a player with Lyon.
Bompastor enjoyed a wonderful first season as the coach of the French side, winning the UEFA Women's Champions League, the Division 1 Feminine title and the Trophee des Championnes.
FIFA Best Men's Coach - Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
Carlo Ancelotti returned to his former club Real Madrid and immediately transformed them into a juggernaut. His key achievements in 2022 include winning the La Liga title, the Champions League title, and the Supercopa de Espana.
Lionel Scaloni and Pep Guardiola are both worthy contenders but it's difficult to look past the coach who did the double last term.
FIFA Best Women's Goalkeeper - Christiane Endler
Christiane Endler has the most impressive list of achievements compared to her peers in 2022. She was named the 22 Division 1 Feminine Goalkeeper of the Year and the 2021-22 UNFP Goalkeeper of the Year. Endler won the Uefa Women's Champions League and the Division 1 Feminine title with Lyon.
The 31-year-old was also named in the 2021-22 UEFA Women's Champions League Team of the Season and the 2021-22 Division 1 Feminine Team of the Year.
FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper - Thibaut Courtois
Thibaut Courtois produced an absolute masterclass of a performance in the UEFA Champions League final against Liverpool. He played a crucial role in Real Madrid's La Liga and Champions League triumphs. The Belgium international also won the 2022 UEFA Super Cup with Real Madrid.
He faces tough competition from Alisson Becker and Emiliano Martinez for the FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper award but we believe the big Belgian will edge it.
Puskas Award - Alou Kuol
Alou Kuol's insane scorpion kick goal for the Australian u-23 side against the Iraq u-23s in June is our pick for the best goal of the year. With the game deadlocked in first-half stoppage time, Kuol made a run to the near post quite possibly hoping that the service would arrive kindly so that he could head home.
But the cross eventually ends up coming a yard behind him. But Kuol wasn't bothered and produced an absolutely stunning effort to bamboozle the opposition and find the back of the net.
Theo Hernandez's solo goal against Atalanta in May, Francisco Gonzalez Metilli's stunning volley, and Dimitri Payet's scorcher are all worthy contenders as well.
Another Aussie in the running for the Puskas award.
This time it’s Alou Kuol, the older brother of Garang, thanks to this scorpion goal 🦂
https://t.co/RJlN80aKNn
FIFA Best Women's Player - Sam Kerr
After being sidelined for the second half of the year with an ACL injury, 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas could get pipped to the FIFA Best Women's Player Award. Australian and Chelsea forward Sam Kerr could go home with the prestigious prize.
She won the 2021-22 FA Women's Super League and the 2021-22 FA Cup. She was also named the 2022 PFA Players' Player of the Year and Chelsea's 2021-22 Women's Player of the Year. Kerr was also the top scorer in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
FIFA Best Men's Player - Lionel Messi
After firing Argentina to glory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and completing football, Lionel Messi may have done just enough to win just his second FIFA Best Men's Player award. Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d'Or but was sidelined for the World Cup due to an injury.
Messi also won the Ligue 1 title and the Trophee des Champions. He picked up the Golden Ball at the World Cup and also became La Albiceleste's all-time top scorer in the history of the tournament.
Lionel Messi and his 2022 World Cup. Incredible. https://t.co/YQC9lJ3y0J