ENGLAND forward Beth Mead and Argentina star Lionel Messi have been shortlisted for the Fifa Best Player awards for 2022.
Mead won the Golden Boot and player of the tournament awards as she helped England win Euro 2022.
She is up for the Best Fifa women’s player, while Messi is nominated for the men’s award.
Messi inspired Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup, scoring seven goals and being named best player.
The Paris St-Germain forward is up against club-mate Kylian Mbappe – whose France side were beaten by Messi’s Argentina in the final – and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.
Arsenal forward Mead, who was also named 2022 BBC Sports Personality of the Year, is up against Spain’s Alexia Putellas and Alex Morgan of the United States.
The 27-year-old, who finished second to Putellas in the women’s player category at the 2022 Ballon d’Or, scored six goals and provided five assists at Euro 2022.
She made her 50th England appearance against Japan in November last year, before suffering a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury the following week in Arsenal’s home Women’s Super League defeat by Manchester United.
Mead also scored 11 goals in 23 WSL games for Arsenal in the 2021-22 season.
Fifa’s ‘The Best’ awards cover games played between 7 August 2021 and 31 July 2022 – the day of the Euros final.
The winners will be announced on 27 February in Paris.
