Best Fifa Football Awards 2019: Who is in contention for the shortlists?
- Published
Real Madrid's Luka Modric won the men's award last year and Brazilian legend Marta picked up the women's award
The nominees for the Best Fifa Football Awards will be revealed on Wednesday in four categories.
The public will vote for the winner from a shortlist of the top 10 players and coaches in 2019 in each group.
The first set of nominees will be announced at 12:00 BST for the best women's coach, followed by the best men's coach at 13:00 BST.
The top 10 best women's players will be revealed at 14:00 BST and the men's an hour later.
What happened last year?
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric won the men's prize for best player in 2018 - the first time in 11 years Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi failed to come out on top in a world footballer of the year award.
Portugal striker Ronaldo came second, while Liverpool's 2017-18 Premier League top scorer Mohamed Salah was voted in third.
France manager Didier Deschamps - whose side beat Modric's Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final - was named best men's coach.
In the female category, Brazil legend Marta picked up her sixth award as best women's player after leading her country to the Copa America Femenina title.
She beat Germany captain Dzsenifer Marozsan in second, while Norwegian Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg came in third.
Lyon's Reynald Pedros led his side to the league and Women's Champions League double in his first season in charge and picked up the women's coach award.
Who is in contention for the male award?
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or and Best Fifa Player awards
Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk is a hot favourite after helping his side win the Champions League in June. The Dutchman was voted PFA Player of the Year as the Reds finished second in the Premier League.
Last season, he played every Premier League game as Liverpool only conceded 22 goals - the lowest number in any of Europe's top six leagues. And nobody has dribbled past Van Dijk in his last 64 appearances for Liverpool - a sequence starting in March 2018.
Team-mates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are also contenders after picking up the Premier League's Golden Boot award, along with Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with 22 goals each.
Premier League rivals Manchester City will also have a few players in contention. England winger Raheem Sterling won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award, scored 29 goals for club and country last season and won the domestic treble with City.
After helping Dutch champions Ajax reach the Champions League semi-finals, impressive performances from midfielder Frenkie de Jong and defender Matthijs de Ligt secured big-money moves to Barcelona and Juventus respectively.
Then, of course, the usual names will be up there. Messi scored 51 goals in 50 games for Barcelona last season - winning the Golden Boot in both the Champions League and La Liga.
Ronaldo scored 28 goals in all competitions, won Serie A with his new club Juventus, and the Nations League with Portugal.
Who is in contention for the female award?
Rapinoe gives USA lead from penalty spot after VAR review
After leading the USA to a record fourth World Cup crown in July, co-captain Megan Rapinoe is a clear favourite. She won the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball and scored the opener in the final before being named the Fifa player of the match in Lyon.
America team-mate Alex Morgan also scored six goals and provided three assists in France to take home the Silver Boot.
Elsewhere, Australia captain Sam Kerr became just the 10th footballer to score four goals in a World Cup match, doing so against Jamaica this summer. She came third in the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year 2019 and was also the top scorer in the American and Australian leagues last season.
Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg has had another impressive season. She won the league and European double with Lyon, scoring a hat-trick in the Champions League final victory over Barcelona. Her absence from the World Cup may harm her chances, though.
Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema is another strong contender. She was voted PFA Player of the Year after helping the Gunners win their first Women's Super League title since 2012, with 22 goals and 10 assists in 19 appearances. The 22-year-old also reached the World Cup final with the Netherlands this summer.
England right-back Lucy Bronze is an outside contender. She picked up the Silver Ball in France for the second-best player at the tournament and helped Lyon win the league and Champions League double.
And England team-mate Nikita Parris won the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year award.
What's the difference between the Ballon d'Or and Best Fifa?
This is the fourth edition of the Best Fifa Football Awards, set up after football's world governing body ended its association with the Ballon d'Or.
A version of the Ballon d'Or has been awarded by France Football magazine since 1956, but was merged with Fifa's World Footballer of the Year award from 2010 to 2015.
The governing body then introduced the Best Fifa Football Awards, with Portugal international Ronaldo the first recipient of its main prize in January 2017.
Voting for the player and coach categories is conducted by national team captains and managers, selected journalists and an online poll from fans. Each account for 25% of the total.