FIFA releases Best player nominees

FIFA has released its nominees for its Best award. As is usual in a tournament year, World Cup performance has probably had an outsize impact on the nominations, which take into account performances from May 25, 2018 to July 7, 2019 for the women. There are also 12 nominees this year instead of 10 since some players tied on points during the nomination process, which is done by a panel with representatives from each confederation.

Nominees

Lucy Bronze (England)
Julie Ertz (USA)
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway)
Ada Hegerberg (Norway)
Amandine Henry (France)
Sam Kerr (Australia)
Rose Lavelle (USA)
Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands)
Alex Morgan (USA)
Megan Rapinoe (USA)
Wendie Renard (France)
Ellen White (England)

Broken down by position:

Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Wendie Renard
Midfielders: Julie Ertz, Amandine Henry, Rose Lavelle, Megan Rapinoe
Forwards: Caroline Graham Hansen, Ada Hegerberg, Sam Kerr, Vivianne Miedema, Alex Morgan, Ellen White

Broken down by nationality:

Australia: 1
England: 2
France: 2
Netherlands: 1
Norway: 2
USA: 4

Best voting is broken down equally among four groups: coaches, captains, journalists, and fans.

Notably, Ada Hegerberg is on the list despite not appearing at the World Cup, although we’ll see how the votes shake out. Once again, tournament performances usually dominate voters’ minds, with a hefty does of name recognition influencing them as well. That probably gives Megan Rapinoe as good a shot as any of the nominees, given the perfect storm of the United States winning the World Cup, Rapinoe winning the Golden Boot and Golden Ball, and the swirling media attention around her and the team for reasons both on and off the pitch.

Who do you think will win this year’s Best award?