‘Captain’ Son Heung-min (Tottenham), who led the Korean Football World Cup round of 16 in 12 years, challenges another new history. For the first time in history, as a Korean player, the International Football Federation (FIFA) and the International Association of Football Players (FIFPRO) select their name in the ‘World 11’.
FIFPRO announced on the 14th (Korean time) that the voting to select the 2022 FIFA·FIFPRO Men’s World 11 has begun. World 11 is currently selected by professional soccer players around the world to vote for the 11 most outstanding soccer players. It has a different meaning because it is ‘the best player recognized by players’.
This year, players who have played at least 35 games in the top professional leagues and international matches based on their performance from August 8, 2021 to the 19th, when the 2022 Qatar World Cup finals will be held, are eligible. Voting rights are given to all professional team players, and you can choose three players each in the goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and striker categories.
Voting is done by distributing links to players from FIFPRO and affiliated players associations. After that, the 26 people who received the most votes will be announced. The World 11, which consists of one player with the most votes, one goalkeeper, and three defenders, midfielders, and strikers, will be unveiled at the ‘2022 The Best FIFA Football Awards’ scheduled for February 27 next year.
According to the Korea Professional Football Players Association, among domestic players, Son Heung-min was named in the striker category. No Korean player, male or female, has ever been selected for the World 11. Son Heung-min was the only Asian player to be nominated for 15 strikers in 2019 and 2020, when there were 55 final candidates. He has never been selected in the World 11. After having the first Asian golden boot (scorer) in the English Premier League (EPL) in the 2021-2022 season, he contributed to Korea’s advance to the round of 16 at the Qatar World Cup despite the aftermath of an orbital fracture surgery. It is a situation where the possibility of entering World 11 is higher than before. 토토사이트
As a female player, Ji So-yeon (Suwon FC) was once included in the 15 midfielders out of 55 players in 2020.
Another concern is Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), who were selected in the World 11 15 times side by side. Messi not only performed well for his team, but also led his country to the final stage in this World Cup. On the other hand, Ronaldo was sluggish at the World Cup following his release from Manchester United, and Portugal was also eliminated in the quarterfinals.