Ranking the nominees as FIFA announce the Puskas Award finalists | OneFootball

With the Best FIFA Awards right around the corner, we now know the final three nominees for the famous Puskas Award, celebrating the best goal of the year.

The ceremony, taking place on Monday, 15th January, will see the best players in the world receive a host of prizes. Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi are believed to be the front-runners for the Men's Player of the Year. Meanwhile, Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati aims to make it a clean sweep as the current favourite for the Women's title. The Spaniard has already claimed the Liga F and Champions League titles for Barcelona, the World Cup with her country, alongside the UEFA Player of the Year, World Cup Player of the Tournament, and the aforementioned Golden Ball.

One of the more subjective awards is the Puskas Award, with fans often torn about which goal deserves such recognition. To be considered for the nomination, goals had to be scored between 19th December 2022 and 20th August 2022. This means strikes like Alejandro Garnacho's spectacular overhead kick were not eligible.

Ahead of the show next month, it has now been revealed which three worldies have made it into the top three contenders. Brighton's Julio Enciso, Botafogo FC-SP's Guilherme Madruga, and Sporting Lisbon's Nuno Santos have seen their beauties selected, and it is tough to call who wins.

Here at GIVEMESPORT, we have taken a look at all three goals and compiled our own final standings for who we think is most deserving of the crown.

There is no doubt that no defensive midfielder goes about their career expecting to ever find the net in as spectacular a fashion as this. Yet, Madruga has managed to accomplish something that most would never dream of.

The goal in question came in the Brazilian second division, as Botafogo FC-SP took on Novorizontino. Statistically, it was a game that the home side dominated, managing 20 shots and 72% possession. However, they were not able to convert any of the chances they created and were left shell-shocked by the piece of brilliance that the 23-year-old produced.

A long throw-in was launched into the penalty area but was initially headed clear by the Novorizontino defender. However, the ball was not dealt with as it dropped just outside the box. With his back to goal, the ball popped up perfectly for the on-loan Madruga, who unleashed a thunderous bicycle kick. Everyone in the stadium watched as goalkeeper Jordi backpedalled but was helpless to stop the ball from looping over him and into the back of the net.

The stunner was good enough to win any game, and that it did, being the only goal as Botafogo hung on to a 1-0 win. Interestingly enough, this defeat ended up being costly for the home team, as they finished one point and one place behind the promotion spots, preventing them from being in the first division the following season.

While it is a tremendous goal, we have placed it third as we feel out of all three, this one is the most reliant on luck. While it is a terrific piece of skill, there's no doubt in our minds it is the most hit and hope out of all the nominations.

2 Nuno Santos

When you try something in training and then manage to pull it off in a game, it really is the sweetest of feelings. That is exactly what Nuno Santos got to experience when scoring a beautiful rabona against Boavista.

Sporting were in command at home but had missed some guilt-edge chances in the lead-up to the Portuguese's strike. They continued threatening as the ball was worked neatly down the right-hand side. Once reaching the penalty area, the ball was cut back behind all the onrushing defenders and attackers. That was until the 28-year-old approached from the left. Rather than attempting to curl the ball with his right foot, he instead attempted an audacious rabona to absolute perfection.

Not only did the effort leave the Boavista keeper stranded, but it managed to avoid the covering defender who had made his way back on the line. He couldn't have placed it better if he had tried. He later revealed that he had been doing this on the training ground, claiming:

Whilst it was incredibly tough to pick between this and our winner, our chosen Puskas winner just edges it for one specific reason, as you'll find out soon enough.

1 Julio Enciso

Brighton (vs Manchester City)

Not only is the Paraguayan's thunderbolt a thing to behold, but the build-up play that occurs just before it is mesmeric. Even more so when you realise that Brighton have done to Manchester City what the champions do to most other teams.

The Seagulls manage to work the ball from back to front two times over in the space of this attack, doing so with just eleven passes, as they are able to build through the lines immaculately. The ball eventually finds the feet of the young attacker in acres of space. Rather than using that space to push the ball forward to create a clear goalscoring opportunity, Enciso decides to have a crack himself.

From all of 30 yards, he rifles the ball into the top corner, leaving the 'keeper with no chance as he dives to his left. As per the Daily Mail, the 19-year-old revealed afterwards that the goal was special for a number of different reasons:

Now, it seems likely that this personal goal will now be immortalised forever, should it be selected as this year's winner. At the very least, it gets our pick.