Son Heung-min of Tottenham Hotspur FC in the English Premier League (EPL) has been nominated for two consecutive years for the list of 55 players to win the 2020 FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11.
According to FIFA on Friday, Son is competing in the forward group of 15 players, including Juventus FC’s Cristiano Ronaldo and FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. While ranked No. 2 in this season’s EPL scores, the South Korean footballer recorded 13 goals this season, which is higher than Ronaldo’s 12 goals and Messi’s seven goals. The World 11 winners, which will be announced at the Best FIFA Football Awards to be held online on Thursday, are voted by professional football players around the world and include three forwards.
Last year, Son was nominated as the first Asian player but did not win the award. Son also has a chance at winning the FIFA Puskas Award at the Thursday ceremony. The Puskas Award is given to the player who made the best goal between November to October next year based on fan voting results (50 percent) and expert panel’s scores (50 percent). Son was nominated for the award for dribbling 73 meters to score a goal against Burnley last year.
Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com