Messi-led Argentina national team to play in Kerala next year
World Cup-winning Argentinian football team led by iconic Lionel Messi will play in Kochi next year, Kerala State Sports Minister V Abdurahiman announced on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are among 10 nominees announced by FIFA on Wednesday in the run for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.
Premier League side Liverpool, crowned in UEFA Champion League last season, saw Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk in the list, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Other contenders for the award were Dutch hopefuls Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe.
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For women’s category, World Cup in France undoubtedly served as a big criteria. American title-winning striker Megan Rapinoe, winning Golden Boot and Golden Ball at the quadrennial tournament, was nominated alongside her national teammates Alex Morgan, Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle.
French club Lyon, treble winners in league, cup and Champions League, witnessed Lucy Bronze, Ada Hegerberg and France’s internationals Amandine Henry and Wendie Renard amongst nominees.
US coach Jill Ellis, the first coach to have won two Women’s World Cups, will be the favourite for the Best Women’s Coach glory. Ellis recently announced that she would step down as the world champions’ head coach in early October.
Her main rivals will be England’s manager Phil Neville and Sarina Wiegman of the Netherlands.
Liverpool’s manager Jurgen Klopp is among the Best Men’s Coach nominees, also featuring Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino, both from Premier League outfits.
Tite, who guided Brazil to recent Copa America title, and African Cup of Nations champions Algeria’s Djamel Belmadi, were also included in the list.
Votes by national team captains, national team coaches and selected media, and the fan vote conducted through the FIFA website, are weighted 25 percent each when deciding the final result.
The FIFA award ceremony will be held in Milan on September 23.
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