There isn’t much time left in 2016 and that means awards season is upon us. FIFA has already put out its list of nominees for men’s player of the year, women’s player of the year, men’s coach of the year and women’s coach of the year, but the most fun award is the Puskas, which goes to the best goal of the year.
There’s a fine crop of nominees this year, but we have to start with Lionel Messi of Argentina. The closest thing the United States got this year to the Puskas shortlist was having Messi score on the USMNT at Copa America this summer:
Continuing down the list, we have Mario Gaspar of Spain scoring in a friendly vs. England:
Hlompho Kekana of South Africa scoring in a Africa Cup of Nations qualifier vs. Cameroon:
Marlone of Corinthians scoring in Copa Libertadores vs. Cobresal:
Neymar of Barcelona scoring in La Liga vs. Villarreal:
Saúl Ñíguez of Atlético Madrid in UEFA Champions League vs. Bayern Munich:
Hal Robson-Kanu of Wales scoring in the 2016 European Championship vs. Belgium:
Daniuska Rodríguez of Venezuela scoring in the South American U-17 Women’s Football Championship vs. Colombia:
Simon Skrabb of Åtvidaberg scoring in the Allsvenskan vs. Gefle:
Mohd Faiz Subri of Penang scoring in the Malaysia Super League vs. Pahang:
There you have it. You can decide which one was your favorite and, once voting opens, help FIFA select which player will be honored in Zurich with the award. Or you can just watch them over and over again – who doesn’t love watching a dope goal?
