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The Puskas Award is the annual award for the best goal scored over a particular calendar year.
Named after famed goalscorer Ferenc Puskas, the award collects nominations from around the globe in all types of FIFA competitions and brings them together in one place for voting to decide the top selection.
Players know that while one goal doesn’t always make an individual’s career, or even decide a match, it can still boast the pinnacle of a player’s ability on the field. Highlight moments are what fans crave, and that’s what this award is all about.
Below is a table with all 11 nominees for the 2023 award, which covers the 2022 calendar year. Click the player’s name to jump to the explanation and video of that nominated goal.
Nominee | Team | Competition | Match | Goal |
Mario Balotelli | Adana Demirspor | Turkish Super Lig | vs. Goztepe, May 22 | 7-0 |
Amandine Henry | Lyon | UEFA Women’s Champions League | vs. Barcelona, May 21 | 1-0 |
Theo Hernandez | AC Milan | Italian Serie A | vs. Atalanta, May 15 | 2-0 |
Alou Kuol | Australia U-23 | AFC U-23 Asian Cup | vs. Iraq U-23, June 4 | 1-0 |
Kylian Mbappe | France | FIFA World Cup | vs. Argentina, Dec. 18 | 2-2 |
Francisco Gonzalez Metilli | Central Cordoba | Argentine Premiera Division | vs. Rosario Central, Aug. 1 | 1-0 |
Marcin Oleksy | Warta Poznan | PZU Amputee Futbol Ekstraklasa | vs. Stal Rzeszow, Nov. 6 | 1-0 |
Salma Paralluelo | Villarreal | Women’s Spanish Primera Division | vs. Barcelona, Apr. 2 | 1-0 |
Dimitri Payet | Marseille | UEFA Europa Conference League | vs. PAOK, Apr. 7 | 2-0 |
Richarlison | Brazil | FIFA World Cup | vs. Serbia, Nov. 24 | 2-0 |
Alessia Russo | England | UEFA Women’s Euro | vs. Sweden, Jul. 26 | 4-0 |
MORE: Every nominee for the FIFA’s The Best awards in 2023
2022 Puskas Award nominees
Mario Balotelli: Adana Demirspor vs. Goztepe, May 22
Some may have forgotten that the Italian international is still playing top-flight football, but Mario Balotelli remains the same as he ever was: full of flair.
Ahead of a summer move to Swiss club FC Sion, Balotelli was playing for Turkish side Adana Demirspor where he scored an incredible 18 goals in 31 appearances in the 2021/22 league season. One of those strikes was a sensational rabona, which followed a set of stepovers that would make Cristiano Ronaldo proud. While the ball got a bit away from him at the end, he readjusted extremely well and produced a world-class finish.
Mario Balotelli scored ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️ today
Come for the stepovers😵💫
Stay for the rabona 😎@AdsKulubu | #Puskas pic.twitter.com/rgWtMvELQN— FIFA (@FIFAcom) May 22, 2022
Amandine Henry: Lyon vs. Barcelona, May 21
One of the most famous midfielders in women’s football, Amandine Henry isn’t exactly known for her finishing in front of goal, but she produced one of the most stunning long-distance finishes of the year on the biggest of stages, stunning Barcelona just over five minutes into the Champions League final.
The goal helped Lyon beat the Spanish giants, eventually winning the match 3-1 and emerging with the coveted European club championship.
TAKE. A. BOW. 🔥
Amandine Henry with one of the goals of the season for @OLFeminin
Watch the @UWCL Final live 👇
🇬🇧 🎙 👉 https://t.co/JBKFKDjnnI
🇪🇸 🎙 👉 https://t.co/mCHiZrlDBV
🇫🇷 🎙 👉 https://t.co/tHncncobhD pic.twitter.com/eDXeDvlLBx— DAZN Football (@DAZNFootball) May 21, 2022
Theo Hernandez: AC Milan vs. Atalanta, May 15
It’s only fitting that goals on the Puskas Award list are recognized at the domestic level before reaching the world stage. That’s what Theo Hernandez’s goal against Atalanta down the stretch of the Serie A season did, as it won 2021/22 Serie A Goal of the Year.
Rightly so, too, as the full-back went nearly the length of the field on a wild, mazy run that saw him pick up the ball just outside his own penalty area and dribble past no fewer than four Atalanta defenders before cutting a left-footed shot across the face of goal and inside the side-netting.
Goal of the Season #SerieA 💎 2021/2022 goes to…🥁
🎊🥇 @TheoHernandez 🥇🎊
presented by @cryptocom! ✨ #GOTS ✨ pic.twitter.com/hyDxRpYzFW
— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) June 25, 2022
Alou Kuol: Australia U-23 vs. Iraq U-23, June 4
For a U-23 player to reach the Puskas Award list, it must be a special strike. That it was for Australian youngster Alou Kuol, who plays for German club Stuttgart and starts for his country’s U-23 side.
Up against Iraq in the U-23 Asian Cup, Kuol scored what some have dubbed “the best goal ever.” As Kuol made a run towards goal, the cross from deep down the right flank was slightly behind him, so under pressure from the defender, Kuol threw his body into the air and lashed his leg at the ball, flicking it into the net with a scorpion kick made for the highlight reel.
Can the 🦂 Scorpion King win the #Puskas Award?
🇦🇺 Alou Kuol’s acrobatic effort at #AFCU23 is in contention of being #TheBest goal at FIFA Football Awards 2022! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/wklqBEEyqL
— #AsianCup2023 (@afcasiancup) January 13, 2023
Kylian Mbappe: France vs. Argentina, Dec. 18
One of the world’s greatest players on the world’s biggest stage scored a late goal to level the score, and you didn’t think it would make this list?
But Kylian Mbappe’s goal against Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup final wasn’t just about the stage or the player, it was about the goal itself as well. With France staring World Cup final defeat in the face in the final 10 minutes, trailing 2-1, the Frenchman hit a looping delivery from Marcus Thuram on the volley with venom, as Dibu Martinez got a fingertip to the ball, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep France from drawing level.
Francisco Gonzalez Metilli: Central Cordoba vs. Rosario Central, Aug. 1
While Kylian Mbappe may have scored his exceptional Puskas nominee in the 81st minute of the World Cup final, a goal scored by Francisco Gonzalez Metilli in the Argentine top-flight appears, on pure skill, to be just a smidge better.
From a similar yet slightly deeper position as Mbappe’s goal and a similar yet slightly more difficult looping delivery, Francisco Gonzalez Metilli of Central Cordoba rifled a stunner into the net.
Hacer un golazo ✅️
Ganar el partido ✅️
Ser nominado el Premio Puskas ✅️De Santiago del Estero al mundo @fifacom_es 😎 pic.twitter.com/No7yOatVhm
— Club Atletico Central Córdoba (@cacc_sde) January 12, 2023
Marcin Oleksy: Warta Poznan vs. Stal Rzeszow, Nov. 6
With one of the most unique goals not just in this year’s field, but in Puskas Award history, Marcin Oleksy scored a strike you must see to believe. Oleksy, who plays for the Polish international Amputee Football team and starred at the Amputee Football World Cup just a month prior, scored a league goal for his club side Warta Poznan that immediately went viral.
Oleksy, who like the rest of his Amputee Football teammates stands on just one leg, used his crutches to meet a looped cross with a mind-blowing scissor kick, putting his entire body weight on his left crutch and whipping his body into a horizontal position. An absolutely bonkers feat of athleticism that has a real chance at winning this year’s award.
While amputee competitions like the Amputee Football World Cup are not directly organized by FIFA (instead, arranged by organizations like WAFF, or World Amputee Football Federation), there was such a fervor over this goal online that FIFA had no choice but to recognize the feat.
𝐆𝐎𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐙𝐎𝐍𝐔 2⃣0⃣2⃣2⃣ ⚽🔝
CO ZA STRZAŁ 💪 CO ZA BOMBA 🔥
Trafienie Marcina Oleksego z ostatniego turnieju możemy oglądać godzinami ❗To jest właśnie PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa 🏆 pic.twitter.com/P65gUCeoJT
— Amp Futbol Polska (@AmpFutbolPolska) November 7, 2022
Salma Paralluelo: Villarreal vs. Barcelona, Apr. 2
One of three women nominated for this year’s Puskas Award, Salma Paralluelo gave the world a taste of her incredible goal scoring abilities when she scored a stunner against Barcelona 12 minutes into their Spanish league match. While Barcelona would ultimately run away with the match by a 6-1 scoreline, Paralluelo’s long-range strike was the talk of the game.
The move by Paralluelo to get space for the strike was almost as impressive, leaving two Barcelona defenders in the dust with a wonderful turn before producing a mind-blowing curler that wound into the top corner from acres outside the penalty area.
🔴 EN DIRECTE
😱 Quin tros de gol acaba de marcar Salma Paralluelo! S’avacen les groguetes al Johan Cruyff
@FCBfemeni 0⃣
⚔️@CVFFemenino 1⃣
#PrimeraIberdrola⚽️📺 @tv3cat
📲 Per streaming aquí: https://t.co/OHyWTuphc8 pic.twitter.com/fhA92U3Yeb— Esport3 (@esport3) April 2, 2022
Dimitri Payet: Marseille vs. PAOK Salonika, Apr. 7
Dimitri Payet is no stranger to sensational goals, known as a flashy forward who plays with flair and style. That was on full display as he played for Marseille against Greek side PAOK in the Europa Conference League.
The French international met a corner outside the top of the penalty area and struck the ball with absolute precision and power, producing a howitzer that crashed into the top corner. It was such a vicious hit that you’d half expect the ball to pierce through the net and end up in the stands.
Dimitri Payet’s stunning long-range goal for Marseille against PAOK has been voted Europa Conference League Goal of the Tournament in a fan poll.
*The top 10 goals were selected by UEFA’s Technical Observer panel, and then put to a vote. @Heineken | #UECLGOTT | #UECL pic.twitter.com/PDqHLhmNYC
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 31, 2022
Richarlison: Brazil vs. Serbia, Nov. 24
Kylian Mbappe’s nominated strike from the World Cup final has not only skill but also the pedigree of the moment, but Richarlison’s incredible goal against Serbia won the ultimate prize — the World Cup’s Goal of the Tournament award.
The Brazilian earmarked the first round of group stage play with one of the most incredible goals in World Cup history, taking a cross with his back to goal and flicking it up into the air to himself, before whipping his body around for a bicycle kick with venom that left Marko Dmitrovic with absolutely no chance.
Voted by you and only you:
🕊🇧🇷 @richarlison97‘s bicycle kick is one for the books and your 🥇 Hyundai Goal Of The Tournament! #HyundaiGOTT2022 | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/ZADZr56ds9
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 23, 2022
Alessia Russo: England vs. Sweden, Jul. 26
We had a rabona (Mario Balotelli), a scissor kick (Alou Kuol), a scissor kick (Marcin Oleksy), and a bicycle kick (Richarlison), so how about a back heel to round out the list?
England international Alessia Russo helped England to a 4-0 romp of Sweden in the semifinals of the 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship as concocted a downright silly finish with her back to goal that stunned the Sweden goalkeeper, who was not prepared for the audacious strike, seeing the ball go through her legs.
It was Russo’s fourth goal of the tournament, two behind the eventual tournament lead from her teammate Beth Mead, and helped England to eventually win the European title as they beat Germany 2-1 in the final in extra time.
😱 @alessiarusso7, that is 𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙂𝙀𝙊𝙐𝙎 😮💨#WEUROVision #WEURO2022 @hisensesports pic.twitter.com/i0BMDsxoa9
— UEFA Women’s EURO (@WEURO) July 26, 2022
All-time winners of Puskas Award
The Puskas Award is given to the individual, men’s or women’s, who scored the best goal of the calendar year. Unlike the other The Best awards, the Puskas Award has been handed out since 2009, originally created as its own standalone award given out each year by FIFA before being absorbed into The Best proceedings.
The award is named after Ferenc Puskas, a legendary Hungarian forward who is regarded as one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, scoring 514 goals across his career with Budapest Honved and Real Madrid.
The first winner was none other than the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, with the likes of Neymar, James Rodriguez, and Mohamed Salah some of the other recognizable names on the list of previous award winners.
Year | Player | Team | Match / Goal |
2021 | Erik Lamela | Tottenham | vs. Arsenal (1-0) |
2020 | Son Heung-Min | Tottenham | vs. Burnley (3-0) |
2019 | Daniel Zsori | Debrecen | vs. Ferencvaros (2-1) |
2018 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | vs. Everton (1-0) |
2017 | Oliver Giroud | Arsenal | vs. Crystal Palace (1-0) |
2016 | Mohd Faiz Subri | Penang | vs. Pahang (4-1) |
2015 | Wendell Lira | Goianesia | vs. Atletico Goianiense (1-0) |
2014 | James Rodriguez | Colombia | vs. Uruguay (1-0) |
2013 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | Sweden | vs. England (4-2) |
2012 | Miroslav Stoch | Fenerbahce | vs. Genclerbirligi (6-1) |
2011 | Neymar | Santos | vs. Flamengo (4-5) |
2010 | Hamit Altintop | Turkey | vs. Kazakhstan (2-0) |
2009 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Man United | vs. Porto (1-0) |
You can watch all previous Puskas Award winners here on the FIFA official website.