After the Ballon d’Or, could Ousmane Dembélé be rewarded again? Fifa’s “The Best” trophy will be held on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Doha where “Dembouz” and Blues captain Kylian Mbappé are among the eleven contenders, the world body announced on Sunday. This gala dinner with 800 personalities will take place on the eve of the Intercontinental Cup final between PSG and Flamengo, which is also being held in Doha.
In addition to Mbappé and Dembélé, the FC Barcelona prodigy Lamine Yamal, Dembélé’s teammates at Paris Saint-Germain Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha or the attackers Mohamed Salah and Harry Kane, are on the list established by “a panel of experts” assembled by the International Federation (Fifa). Last year, Vinicius and Aitana Bonmati were crowned.
Seventeen players will compete for the women’s distinction: the English twice European champions place five representatives, just like the Spanish world champions, while Sandy Baltimore and Kadidiatou Diani will represent the French colors.
Luis Enrique named
Winner of the Champions League with PSG, Spaniard Luis Enrique is unsurprisingly among the nominees for the trophy for best coach of a men’s team, facing six rivals including Hansi Flick (FC Barcelona) and Arne Slot (Liverpool). For women’s football, the Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman holds the lead – with a third Euro in a row won this summer – but the Frenchwoman Sonia Bompastor was selected in her first season at the helm of Chelsea.
Other prizes will crown the best goalkeeper, while the Marta (women) and Puskas (men) prizes will be awarded to the best goals of the year. The winners were chosen by a vote of supporters, media representatives, captains and coaches of the national teams.
