England duo Sarina Wiegman and Mary Earps were winners at the 2022 Best FIFA Awards, claiming the women’s coach and women’s goalkeeper prizes at Monday’s ceremony in Paris.
England’s march to the Euro 2022 title was celebrated with Wiegman named best women’s coach ahead of Lyon’s Sonia Bompastor and Pia Sundhage of Brazil, while Earps, who started every game at the tournament pipped fellow nominees Ann-Katrin Berger of Germany and Chile’s Christiane Endler to the women’s goalkeeper award.
It was not to be a hat-trick of successes for England as Beth Mead missed out on the best women’s player award to Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who won the accolade for a second straight year.
World Cup winner Lionel Messi edged Kylian Mbappe again, this time to take FIFA’s best men’s player award.
After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappe’s France last year in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote against his PSG team-mate and Karim Benzema to secure the FIFA prize for a second time.
Lionel Messi holds the World Cup trophy aloft
The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the World Cup final, which Argentina won on penalties against France following a 3-3 draw after extra-time.
Messi was named player of the tournament at the World Cup, the first player to receive the award twice after winning the accolade at Brazil in 2014. He scored seven goals in Qatar, including a double in the final against France, and provided three assists. He also overtook German legend Lothar Matthaus as the World Cup’s record appearance holder.
At club level, Messi won Ligue 1 in his debut season with PSG and continues to work his magic in the domestic game.
Messi scored twice in the World Cup final
He said: “It’s been a tremendous year and it’s an honour for me to be here and win this award. Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here.
“I achieved the dream I had been hoping for for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so.”
Elsewhere, Emiliano Martinez‘s World Cup heroics for Argentina saw him named the best men’s goalkeeper, while Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni beat Man City’s Pep Guardiola and Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti to the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award.
Premier League stars Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Casemiro and Erling Haaland were named in the men’s world XI alonsgide the likes of Messi, Mbappe and Benzema.
Despite the disappointment of not being named best women’s player, Mead – the Euro 2022 player of the tournament and golden boot winner – was included in the best women’s XI. She was one of four Lionesses in the team alongside Arsenal team-mate Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze and Kiera Walsh.
Finally, amputee footballer Marci Oleksy won the Puskas award for his stunning scissor kick goal.
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Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy scored an incredible overhead kick for Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow in the PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa, winning the Puskas award for best FIFA goal.
Wiegman wins third FIFA award | ‘Incredible to celebrate women’s football’
After leading England to a maiden major tournament victory at the Euro 2022 on home soil., Wiegman picked up the best women’s coach award for a third time having taken home the prize in 2017 and 2020.
England scored 22 goals in six matches at the tournament and conceded just twice. They also showed resilience grinding out extra-time victories over Spain in the quarter-finals and Germany in the final.
She boasts an incredible record since taking on the role as England manager in 2021. The Lionesses remain unbeaten under her stewardship, having won 25 and drawn four of her 29 matches in charge.
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A special documentary with archive footage and exclusive interviews profiling England manager Sarina Wiegman who hopes to inspire the Lionesses to glory at Euro 2022.
Wiegman took the opportunity to call for the women’s game to continue its rapid growth while remaining aware of the pitfalls.
After picking up her award, she said: “From when I could walk, I loved football and over the years I’ve seen how the women’s game has grown and developed.
“It’s incredible to be here right now and celebrate women’s football in the world. We have heroes in this room, little girls have their idols.
“They have inspirations. So many people across the world have worked so hard to get the game where it is right now.”
Earps: You can achieve anything you set your mind to
Earps was also a key figure for England at Euro 2022, keeping four clean sheets and conceding just two goals on her way to being named in the team of the tournament.
The goalkeeper reflected on a difficult period in her life after being acclaimed as the finest keeper in the women’s game.
“I feel really honoured to be holding this heavy trophy,” said Earps. “Thank you to my loved ones who picked me up off the kitchen floor to be here today, not specifically tonight but a few years ago.
“And to Sarina Wiegman, I have run out of words to say to you. Thank you for believing in me the way you have.
“For anyone who has been in a dark place, just know there is light at the end of the tunnel, so keep going. You can achieve anything that you set your mind to.”
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Watch Mary Earps’ best saves for Manchester United from the Women’s Super League.
The Best FIFA Men’s Player
Finalists:
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Winner: Lionel Messi
The Best FIFA Women’s Player
Finalists:
- Beth Mead (Arsenal)
- Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave)
- Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Winner: Alexia Putellas
The 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI…
Thibaut Courtois, Achraf Hakimi, Joao Cancelo, Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland.
The 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World XI…
Christiane Endler, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Wendie Renard, Mapi Leon, Kiera Walsh, Alexia Putellas, Lena Oberdorf, Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr, Beth Mead
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper
Finalists:
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Winner: Emiliano Martinez
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
Finalists:
- Ann-Katrin Berger (Chelsea)
- Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- Christiane Endler (Lyon)
Winner: Mary Earps
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach
Finalists:
- Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid)
- Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
- Lionel Scaloni (Argentina)
Winner: Lionel Scaloni
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach
Finalists:
- Sonia Bompastor (Lyon)
- Pia Sundhage (Brazil)
- Sarina Wiegman (England)
Winner: Sarina Wiegman
The FIFA Puskas Award
Finalists:
- Marcin Oleksy (vs Stal Rzeszow)
- Dimitri Payet (vs PAOK Thessaloniki)
- Richarlison (vs Serbia)
Winner: Marci Oleksy
The FIFA Fan Award
Finalists:
Abdullah Alsulmi – The only individual supporter to have been nominated for the Fan Award is Abdullah Alsulmi. He spent 55 days walking across the Arabian desert to watch Saudi Arabia play at the 2022 World Cup, a distance of 1,600km from his hometown, Jeddah, to Doha.
Argentinian fans – Travelled in huge numbers to Qatar and roared on their country to World Cup glory.
Japanese fans – Japan fans were seen clearing up the stands in Qatar after each of their nation’s games.
Winner: Argentinian fans
