Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé square off again for the FIFA Best Men's Player award in 2022.
Argentina's World Cup-winning captain and France's star forward lead FIFA's three-player shortlist announced on Friday, eight weeks after leading their respective nations to an epic final in Qatar.
Karim Benzema finished third in the voting by a global panel of national team leaders and coaches, as well as journalists from each of FIFA's 211 member countries and fans voting online.
Beth Mead of England, Alex Morgan of the United States, and Alexia Putellas of Spain were on the shortlist for the Best Women's Player award, which was decided by a separate global voting panel.
The winners will be unveiled at an event in Paris on February 27.
Messi edged Mbappé for FIFA's Golden Ball as the greatest player in the World Cup. Croatia captain Luka Modri finished third in that competition.
Another tussle is expected between the Paris Saint-Germain colleagues, with Messi favorite to win FIFA's annual individual accolade for the eighth time. Mbappé is looking for his first goal.
Messi previously won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2009, the FIFA Ballon d'Or in each year from 2010 to 2012 and again in 2015, and the current title of Best FIFA Men's Player for 2019.
Mbappe joins the shortlist for the first time, despite finishing fourth in voting for the award in 2018. In the last three years, the 24-year-old has finished sixth, seventh, and ninth.
For the past two years, Robert Lewandowski has won the FIFA award.
Benzema earned the more prestigious Ballon d'Or award, organized by France Football magazine, in October, ahead of the World Cup. The France forward was unable to compete due to an injury. Messi was not among the extensive list of Ballon d'Or contenders revealed in August.
Putellas won the Best Women's Player title for 2021, and the Barcelona playmaker finished in the top three despite being injured just days before the European Championship and missing Spain's participation.
Mead was named the tournament's best player after guiding England to victory in Euro 2022 as the tournament's joint top scorer. She suffered a devastating knee injury while playing for Arsenal in November and may miss the Women's World Cup, which kicks off in July and is co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
Morgan was selected player of the tournament when the United States won the CONCACAF Women's Championship last year, finishing second to teammate Megan Rapinoe in the 2019 voting. She was also a high-scoring player.
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