The 26-man shortlist for the 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World11 has been announced, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe featuring in a star-studded line-up.
On Monday 27 February, the only global player award decided exclusively by footballers will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards – the FIFPro Men’s World 11.
That’s right. Thousands of players from around the world will have their say on who features in the ultimate best XI, with a goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards featuring.
The remaining spot in the team is assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes.
In total, almost 19,000 professional men’s players voted for the World 11 team last year as the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ruben Dias and Jorginho featured
So who has been selected in the 26-man shortlist ahead of this year’s ceremony in Paris?
To start with, Alisson Becker, Thibaut Courtois and World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez are the three goalkeepers selected.
Eight defenders feature in the list, with some most notable entrees including Virgil van Dijk, Thiago Silva and Josko Gvardiol. It may come as a surprise to see no Argentine players in the back line considering their World Cup success.
Eight midfielders are also included and two Barcelona players – Gavi and Pedri – are clearly rated highly amongst their peers, while the experienced Luka Modric makes the shortlist alongside Manchester United’s Casemiro and Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham.
Finally, seven attacking players feature in the World 11 squad, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and the Premier League top goalscorer Erling Haaland, who was included in the final XI last year.
