Meade was top scorer and named player of the tournament as England triumphed at home last month. Chelsea’s Sam Kerr and Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema are also on the shortlist, along with Barcelona star Alexia Putellas, while the headline from the men’s nominations was the absence of seven-time winner Lionel Messi. Messi won the award in 2021 and 2019 – it was not held in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic – but, following his move to Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine was omitted. Messi’s long-time Ballon d’Or rival Cristiano Ronaldo is listed as Manchester United’s sole contender, while England trio Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden and Harry Kane are also in the 30-man squad. Foden is one of six Manchester City players on the list, including new signing Erling Haaland, while Liverpool quintet Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Fabinho, Virgil van Dijk and Darwin Nunes – as well as the recently departed Sadio Mane – are included also. Son Heung-min joins Kane’s strike partner while the favorite to win for the first time is Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Quick guide
The candidates for the Golden Ball 2022
projection MEN Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France) Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, Portugal); Casemiro (Real Madrid, Brazil); Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium); Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium); Luis Diaz (Liverpool, Colombia); Fabinho (Liverpool, Brazil); Phil Foden (Manchester City, England); Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway); Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund, Ivory Coast) Harry Kane (Tottenham, England); Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, Germany); Rafael Leao (Milan, Portugal); Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland); Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria); Mike Maignan (Milan, France) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France). Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, Senegal); Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia); Darwin Nunez (Liverpool, Uruguay); Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, France); Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal); Antonio Rudiger(Real Madrid, Germany) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt); Bernard Silva (Manchester City, Portugal); Son Heung-min (Tottenham, South Korea) Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands); Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid, Brazil); Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus, Serbia) WOMEN Selma Batsa (Lyon, France); Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona, Spain); Milly Bright (Chelsea, England); Lucy Bronze (Barcelona, England) Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain, France). Christian Edler (Lyon, Chile); Ada Hegerberg (Lyon, Norway); Marie-Antoinette Cotto (Paris Saint-Germain, France). Sam Kerr (Chelsea, Australia); Katarina Makarios (Lyons, United States); Beth Mead (Arsenal, England); Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal, Netherlands); Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave, United States); Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg, Germany); Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona, Nigeria); Alexandra Pop (Wolfsburg, Germany); Alexia Putellas (Barcelona, Spain); Wendy Renard (Lyon, France); Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit, United States); Fridolina Rolfö (Barcelona, Sweden) Thanks for your response. Champions League winners Real are well represented with Thibaut Courtois, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and recent Chelsea signing Antonio Rudiger. Arsenal’s Bucayo Saka and England international Jude Bellingham of Borussia Dortmund are among the contenders for the Kopa Trophy for the best players aged 21 and under. The Premier League is well represented in the shortlist for the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper, meanwhile, with Man City’s Ederson, Liverpool’s Alisson Becker, Chelsea’s Édouard Mendy and Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris joining Courtois in the list of 10 men.
