World Cup Stars Dominate FIFA Best Player Award Shortlist, Neymar Misses Out

French World Cup winners Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Raphael Varane were included alongside perennial candidates Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on a 10-man shortlist for the FIFA best player award on Tuesday. Luka Modric was nominated for the prize as well after helping Croatia reach the final, with the Real Madrid midfielder named the player of the tournament in Russia. Belgium duo Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne were also shortlisted along with England striker Harry Kane, in addition to Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah.

However, there was no place for Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil forward Neymar, whose country lost 1-2 to Belgium in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

France coach Didier Deschamps and compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who led Real Madrid to a third successive Champions League title, headlined the 11 candidates in the running for men's coach of the year.

Deschamps became just the third man to lift the World Cup trophy as both a player and a coach, joining an exclusive club featuring Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.

Zlatko Dalic was recognised after Croatia's impressive run to the final, while Gareth Southgate and Roberto Martinez were also among the nominees, having respectively led England and Belgium to the last four.

Six members of Lyon's Champions League-winning side are in contention for the women's player of the year award, including Norwegian forward Ada Hegerberg, whose 15 goals fired them to a record fifth European title.

Lyon boss Reynald Pedros is one of 10 nominees for the best women's coach.

With the help of fan voting, the final lists will be trimmed to three candidates in each category and revealed in early September.

This is the third edition of the Best FIFA awards following the end of a six-year merger between the FIFA honour and France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2016.

Ronaldo is the two-time winner of the accolade, which is a revival of the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

Full list of nominees:

The Best FIFA Men's Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid/Juventus); Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City); Antoine Griezmann (France/Atletico Madrid); Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea); Harry Kane (England/Tottenham Hotspur); Kylian Mbappe (France/Paris Saint-Germain); Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona); Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid); Mohammed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool); Raphael Varane (France/Real Madrid).

The Best FIFA Women's Player: Lucy Bronze (England/Olympique Lyonnais); Pernille Harder (Denmark/VfL Wolfsburg); Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Olympique Lyonnais); Amandine Henry (France/Olympique Lyonnais); Samantha Kerr (Australia/Sky Blue FC/Perth Glory FC/Chicago Red Stars); Saki Kumagai (Japan/Olympique Lyonnais); Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Olympique Lyonnais); Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride); Megan Rapinoe (USA/Seattle Reign); Wendie Renard (France/Olympique Lyonnais).

The Best FIFA Men's Coach: Massimiliano Allegri (Italy/Juventus); Stanislav Cherchesov (Russia/Russian national team); Zlatko Dalic (Croatia/Croatian national team); Didier Deschamps (France/France national team); Pep Guardiola (Spain/Manchester City); Juergen Klopp (Germany/Liverpool); Roberto Martinez (Spain/Belgian national team); Diego Simeone (Argentina/Atletico Madrid); Gareth Southgate (England/English national team); Ernesto Valverde (Spain/Barcelona); Zinedine Zidane (France/Real Madrid).

The Best FIFA Women's Coach: Emma Hayes (England/Chelsea Women); Stephan Lerch (Germany/VfL Wolfsburg); Mark Parsons (England/Portland Thorns); Reynald Pedros (France/Olympique Lyonnais); Alen Stajcic (Australia/Australian national team); Asako Takakura (Japan/Japanese national team); Vadao (Brazil/Brazilian national team); Jorge Vilda (Spain/Spanish national team); Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany/Swiss national team); Sarina Wiegman (The Netherlands/Dutch national team).

Topics mentioned in this article

Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Eden Hazard Kylian Mbappe Antoine Griezmann Neymar Luka Modric Kevin De Bruyne FIFA Football