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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
What do you think of the below shortlist?
So how are places in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World11 decided?
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As explained on the FIFA website, each voting player nominates three goalkeepers, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards in no particular order.
From these nominations, the goalkeeper with the most votes will be named in the World11.
The outfield players will comprise of the three defenders, midfielders and forwards with the most votes. The 10th outfield player will be the individual with the most nominations, regardless of position, who is not already in the World11.
In instances where a player has received votes in multiple positions (e.g., as a midfielder and a forward), their votes will be combined and taken into account when determining the 10th outfield player. If selected, they will be placed in the position where they received the most votes.
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In the event of a tie, the player(s) who has/have played the most official matches will be named in the World11.
Lionel Messi has the most appearances in the World 11 with 15 and it's almost guaranteed that he will be included this time around after his World Cup triumph.
Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 14 selections in total, also has a chance of making the team again, although some have raised eyebrows over his selection in the 26-man shortlist.
PSG defender Sergio Ramos has featured in 11 teams in total but he misses out this time around.
Topics: FIFA, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham
Jack Kenmare