Sports

BREAKING: Ballon d’Or 2022: 20-man Nominees Confirmed [Full List]

Published

3 years ago

August 12, 2022

A 20-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or award has been announced today, Friday, 12 August 2022.

This was confirmed by France Football, who are organizers of the award, via their website today.

Recall that Lionel Messi, who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, won the Ballon d’Or last year after beating the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho and Karim Benzema.

Below are the nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or:

Thibaut Courtois (BEL, Real Madrid), Rafael Leao (POR, AC Milan), Mohamed Salah (EGY, Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (GER, Bayern Munich), Christopher Nkunku (FRA, RB Leipzig), Trent Alexander-Arnold (ANG, Liverpool), Robert Lewandowski (POL, Bayern Munich then FC Barcelona), Bernardo Silva (POR, Manchester City),Vinicius Junior (BRE, Real Madrid), Luis Diaz (COL, FC Porto then Liverpool), Karim Benzema (FRA, Real Madrid), Fabinho (BRE, Liverpool), Riyad Mahrez (ALG, Manchester City), Heung-min Son (CDS, Tottenham), Casemiro (BRE, Real Madrid), Phil Foden (ENG, Manchester City), Harry Kane (ENG, Tottenham), Sadio Mané (SEN, Liverpool then Bayern Munich), Darwin Nunez (URU, Benfica then Liverpool), Mike Maignan (FRA, AC Milan), Kevin De Bruyne (BEL, Manchester City), Sébastien Haller (CIV, Ajax then Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (CRO, Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, Manchester United), Antonio Rüdiger (GER, Chelsea then Real Madrid), Joao Cancelo (POR, Manchester City), Erling Haaland (NOR, Borussia Dortmund then Manchester City), Kylian Mbappé (FRA, PSG), Virgil Van Dijk (HOL, Liverpool) and Dusan Vlahovic (SER, Fiorentina then Juventus).

Sports

AFCON 2025: Four Teams Qualify For Round Of 16

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2025

Editor

South Africa became the fourth team to confirm their place in the last 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Bafana Bafana edged a five-goal thriller against rivals Zimbabwe, winning 3-2 on Monday evening.

Tshepang Moremi opened the scoring for Hugo Broos’ side, before Tawanda
Maswanhise equalised in the 19th minute.

Lyle Foster restored South Africa’s lead five minutes after the break, but Aubrey Modiba drew the match level in the 73rd minute.

The winning goal came with eight minutes remaining, as Oswin Appollis converted from the penalty spot.

The result took South Africa to six points, one behind group winners Egypt. Both sides have qualified for the next round, alongside Nigeria and Algeria.

Sports

AFCON: Uganda Coach Lists Three Things His Team Must Do Against Nigeria

Published

6 days ago

December 29, 2025

Editor

Uganda head coach Paul Put has outlined three key areas his side must focus on to secure victory against Nigeria when both teams clash in Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations tie.

Put’s side must claim all three points against the Super Eagles or risk an early exit from the competition. The Cranes have just one point in Group C after their opening two matches.
A win against Nigeria could see Uganda qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.

However, speaking at his pre-match press conference on Monday, Put said that for Uganda to overcome Eric Chelle’s side, they must “concentrate be very prepared and win their duels” against Nigeria.

“We have to go for it [win against Nigeria] and we will do it,” Put said.

“Nigerians play at a high level in Europe, so we have to be very concentrated, very prepared and win our duels, which is one of the strong points of Nigeria.”