On Monday, FIFA’s The Best Awards took place, with Luka Modric and Marta taking home the main awards for best male and female players. But there were also a host of other awards given out on the night.
Modric ended the ten-year dominance of the award by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, finishing ahead of the Portuguese superstar and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Salah did, however, pick up the Puskas Award for Goal of the Year, thanks to his strike against Everton in 2017. This was in controversial circumstances, however, as many people believed that there were a number of better goals nominated for the awards.
In midfield, N’Golo Kante was selected in the side for the first team and was joined by Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard, and another Real Madrid player, Luka Modric.
In the front three, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were once again selected in the team, and there was also the first-ever selection for French wonderkid Kylian Mbappe.
Here is an alternative Team of the Year of players who didn’t make it into this year’s XI.
Mohamed Salah
It was baffling that Salah didn’t make the World XI, having made the three-man shortlist for Best Player award, ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard, all of whom were selected in the side. Salah scored an unprecedented 32 Premier League goals last season, the most by anyone in a 38-game season. He also helped Liverpool to the Champions League Final, where unfortunately everything ended in tears, after having to come off because of a first-half injury.
Antoine Griezmann
Given the success that Griezmann has achieved at both club and international level over the last year, it was a surprise to see him left out of the team. He helped lead Atletico Madrid to the Europa League title, beating Marseille in the final. The biggest part of his success was at the World Cup though, where he helped lead France to their second world title. He set up one goal, and scored another, and won the Bronze Ball for being the third best player at the tournament.
Harry Kane
He may have had a tough start to the season, but Kane had perhaps his best season individually last season, and won the Golden Boot at the World Cup. He scored 30 goals in the Premier League last season, finishing second to just Mohamed Salah in the scoring charts. Although England missed out on a spot in the World Cup Final, he scored six times at the tournament, in doing so became the first Englishman to win the Golden Boot since Gary Lineker in 1986.