Two Aussies nominated for major FIFA awards
Australians Sam Kerr and Alou Kuol are on the shortlist for two top awards in FIFA’s calendar.
The Matildas star has been nominated for ‘The Best FIFA Women’s Player’ while Socceroo’s starlet has been nominated for the Puskas Award.
Kerr had yet another astounding year for club and country with 32 goals across the 2022 calendar year.
She finished third in the Ballon d’Or Feminin late last year, however, she’ll be hoping to take home the trophy as FIFA’s best women’s player.
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A magnificent season for Chelsea saw her score 20 goals in 20 league games to help secure the club yet another FA Women’s Super League trophy.
With a vital year ahead for the women’s game with the World Cup set to be hosted in Australia, it would signal a huge start for Kerr.
Her main contenders for the award will be Alexia Putellas who took home the Ballon d’Or Feminin and Arsenal’s Beth Mead.
Another Aussie, Alou Kuol makes his way onto the shortlist for the Puskas award, a trophy awarded to the best goal of the year.
His nomination comes from his stunning scorpion kick goal for the Olyroos against Iraq U23 and the U23 Asian Cup in June.
Aussies sure have a knack for some outlandish scorpion kick goals, don’t they?
Riley McGree was nominated for the award in 2018 for his effort for Newcastle Jets against Melbourne City.
Unlike the Ballon d’Or awards which are decided by journalists around the world, the FIFA award can be voted on by fans.
You can head here to ensure your vote for the Aussies is counted.
As for the ‘Best FIFA Men’s Player’ award, the shortlist is unsurprisingly being headed up by Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Both enjoyed a wonderful FIFA World Cup, with Messi edging out the Frenchmen for the trophy and player of the tournament award.
Others on that list include Robert Lewandowski, Luka Modric, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne, Jude Bellingham, and Karim Benzema.
Benzema could be a shout for the award considering he took home the men’s Ballon d’Or, however, the World Cup tournament could have a lot of bearing on the results this time around.
And with the French star missing out on the tournament in Qatar, he’ll be hoping his performances for Real Madrid will aid his cause.
Jayden Collins