Vini, Neymar, and Debinha are among the nominees for the FIFA The Best award.

Brazil Agency - Brazil has seven representatives in The Best, the award given by the International Federation of Football (FIFA) to the highlights of the year. The nominations were announced this Thursday (12). Three of them are vying for the best of the season titles among men (Neymar and Vinícius Júnior) and women (Debinha).

Goalkeepers Alisson and Ederson are competing for the best goalkeeper award. Swedish coach Pia Sundhage, head coach of the women's national team, is nominated for best coach. Meanwhile, striker Richarlison is vying for the Puskás Award for the most beautiful goal, thanks to his volley for Brazil's second goal in their 2-0 victory over Serbia in their opening match of the Qatar World Cup. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on February 27th in Paris, France.

In the race for The Best men's award, Neymar (third in 2015 - when the award was shared with the Ballon d'Or from France Football magazine - and 2017) and Vini Jr. will face competition from Argentinians Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez, Englishman Jude Bellingham, Frenchmen Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé, Belgian Kevin de Bruyne, Norwegian Erling Haaland, Moroccan Achraf Hakimi, Polish Robert Lewandowski, Senegalese Sadio Mane, Croatian Luka Modric and Egyptian Mohamed Salah.

Elected six times as the best player in the world and the main figure for Argentina in their Qatar World Cup victory, Messi appears as the favorite, with Benzema (a standout for Real Madrid in their Champions League victory and winner of the 2022 Ballon d'Or) and Mbappé (top scorer of the World Cup, with eight goals) as his main rivals. The Argentine last won the award in 2019.

In the women's category, Debinha was nominated for The Best award for the first time, thanks to her key role in Brazil's Copa América title win, as well as being selected for the North American League's All-Star team. The Brazilian number 9 will face competition from England's Keira Walsh, Beth Mead, and Leah Williamson; Spain's Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas; Germany's Lena Oberdorf and Alexandra Popp; Canada's Jessie Fleming; Norway's Ada Hegerberg; Australia's Sam Kerr; the Netherlands' Vivianne Miedema; the United States' Alex Morgan; and France's Wendie Renard.

The last winner of the award was Putellas, who won the Ballon d'Or for 2022, but the Spaniard will face tough competition. Mead, Walsh, and Williamson were England's standout players in their Women's European Championship title-winning campaign. In addition to being named the tournament's best player, Mead was also the top scorer with six goals (and five assists).

In the battle for the title of best goalkeeper, Alisson (winner in 2019) and Ederson will face rivals such as Moroccan Yassine Bounou, Belgian Thibaut Courtois, and Argentinian Emiliano Martínez. The latter was awarded the Golden Glove at the Qatar World Cup, while Courtois was the star player for Real Madrid in the Champions League final against Liverpool.

Considered the best women's soccer coach in the world in 2012 – when she was in charge of the United States – and third in 2016, Pia Sundhage has five competitors in the race for a second title. Three of them are also national team coaches: Bev Priestman (Canada), Martina Voss-Tecklenburg (Germany), and Sarina Wiegman (England). The other two are Sonia Bompastor, who manages Lyon (France), and Emma Hayes, who manages Chelsea (England) and is the current winner. Wiegman, who last won in 2020, led England to the European Championship title in 2022.

Finally, Richarlison's stunning goal against Serbia has ten contenders for the Puskás Award: Italian Mario Balotelli, French players Mbappé, Théo Hernández, Dimitry Payet and Amandine Henry, Argentinian Francisco Metilli, Sudanese Alou Kuol, Polish Marcin Oleksy, Spanish Salma Paralluelo and English Alessia Russo. The Brazilian has the advantage of having his goal voted the most beautiful of the World Cup in a popular vote.