By Nurudeen Obalola
Super Eagles of Nigeria pair Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong as well as Super Falcons star Asisat Oshoala have earned nominations in different categories of The Best FIFA Football Awards.
The nominees were revealed in the early hours of Friday, with Lookman looking to earn a spot in the attack of the Best XI and Troost-Ekong vying for a place in the defence.
Lookman scored three goals as the Super Eagles reached the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in February this year and bagged a historic hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League final in May as Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0.
Lookman, who finished 14th in the 2024 Ballon d’Or, is up against top stars including Lionel Messi, Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland and Cristiano Ronaldo for a spot in the Best XI attack.
Troost-Ekong, who also scored thrice at the 2023 AFCON and emerged as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, is up against Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rudiger, William Saliba, Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Jonathan Tah and others in the Best XI defence.
Oshoala’s acrobatic strike for her former club Barcelona Femeni against Benfica in the UEFA Women’s Champions League is nominated for the newly introduced Marta Award for the best goal in women’s football.
