Fleming, Morgan and Priestman among FIFA The Best nominees | OneFootball

MIAMI, Florida – This Thursday, FIFA announced the nominees for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 to honor the most outstanding members of the world’s most popular sport.

Concacaf will be well represented at the awards ceremony next February 27 in Zurich, with four nominees at the event.

Two players from the Concacaf region have been nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alex Morgan of the United States and Jessie Fleming of Canada.

Morgan took home the Golden Ball as the most valuable player of the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey in leading the U.S. to their ninth title. Morgan scored the lone goal in the 1-0 victory against Canada in the Final to finish the tournament as the joint-top scorer with three goals.

The 33-year-old FW was named to the 2022 CWC’s Best XI for her performances in four matches, as the U.S. punched their ticket to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand and secured their place in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Morgan also enjoyed an excellent season at club level, scoring 16 goals in 19 NWSL appearances with the San Diego Wave.

In 2019, Morgan was second in the voting for The Best FIFA Women’s Player, finishing slightly behind international teammate Megan Rapinoe.

Fleming was a key piece to Canada’s runner-up finish at the CWC, scoring three goals in five games to help her nation qualify for this summer’s Women’s World Cup.

The 24-year-old MF was selected as the Canada Soccer Player of the Year for a second straight year and was also named to the 2022 CWC Best XI.

At club level, Fleming was superb with FA Women’s Super League club Chelsea, helping the Blues win both the 2021-22 FA Women’s Super League title and the 2021-22 FA Cup.

Canada Women’s National Team Head Coach Bev Priestman has been nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Coach. A year after guiding Canada to the Gold Medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Priestman was at the helm as Canada finished as runners-up at the 2022 CWC.

Canada’s strong display in Mexico qualified the team for a spot at Australia/New Zealand 2023 and a place in the Concacaf Olympic Play-In for Paris 2024.

U.S. GK Alyssa Naeher is nominated for The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper after a stellar 2022 in which her strong displays in net helped the U.S. claim the 2022 CWC. Naeher did not allow a goal in her two matches in Monterrey, including in the Final against rivals Canada.

Naeher also kept seven clean sheets in 20 NWSL matches with the Chicago Red Stars in 2022.