- Could Kylian Mbappe make a return to the World 11 for first time since 2019?
- Mbappe's impressive World Cup and great 21/22 season at PSG has him in contention for return
- FIFPRO takes a look at why Mbappe is one of 26 nominees for the 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11
Absent from the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11 since 2019, Kylian Mbappe has a great chance of being included in the 2022 line-up. His presence will be decided by the votes of his fellow players, as usual, but his stratospheric level over the past year and a half must make him optimistic.
A brief reminder: the period for which footballers vote for the 2022 team is from 8 August 2021 to 18 December 2022 inclusive. In other words, the 2021/22 season plus the first few months of 2022/23, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Now that the list of 26 shortlisted players has been revealed, all that remains is to see which ones have enough votes to join the new team of the year.
How does the World 11 voting work?
Other players in the forward category are: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City, Norway), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona, Poland), Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina), Neymar Jr (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Al Nassr, Portugal).
Mbappe’s achievements
The first thing that springs to mind about this French forward is his superb performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His three goals in the final against Argentina, plus the penalty he scored in the final shoot-out, cannot be overshadowed by the fact that he was not in the winning team.
Mbappe was unquestionably the star of his team and won awards as the second-best player of the tournament and the top scorer, netting eight times. Not since Brazil's Ronaldo in 2002 had anyone scored so many in a World Cup. In the 22 championships held, only eight players have managed to reach that figure – but only Mbappe and Ronaldo have done so in the last 50 years.
Mbappe also belongs to a select group of just five footballers in history who have scored in two World Cup finals.
His personal goal tally was supplemented by two assists, and he was the player with the most shots, at 29.
But the World Cup was not Mbappe's only brilliant exploit in the last year and a half: he was the star of another Ligue 1 title for Paris Saint-Germain. He finished as the highest scorer in the 2021/22 season, with 28 goals, and, in a team that includes Messi and Neymar, he was the top provider of assists, with 17.
In October 2021 Mbappe became a UEFA Nations League champion with France. In the semi-final and final he recorded two goals and two assists.
Individual awards
- Silver Ball at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- Golden Boot at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar
- Top goalscorer in Ligue 1 in 2021/22
- Most assists in Ligue 1 in 2021/22
- Member of the UNFP Ligue 1 team of the year for 2021/22
- UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 2021/22
- Golden Boot in the 2021 UEFA Nations League Finals
“This guy's performance to maintain France's dream [in the final against Argentina]… the quality of his attitude through the tournament, it was absolutely breath-taking”
— by Former France international Louis Saha
Mbappe in the FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11
Mbappe’s first appearance in the World 11 was in 2017, after making the list of 55 nominees, when he became a Ligue 1 champion with Monaco and scored 26 goals in 44 matches in all competitions at just 18 years of age.
But it was not until 2018, after becoming a world champion in Russia 2018, that he managed to become one of the 11 players chosen by his peers.
He made a repeat appearance in 2019 — Ligue 1 champion, best player and top scorer with PSG — but in 2020 and 2021 he did not get beyond pre-selected status. He was on the list of 55 players in 2020 and of only 23, in the new format, in 2021.
When will the 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 be announced?
The 2022 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 will be officially announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards gala for 2022, to be held in Paris on Monday 27 February 2023.
It will be made up of the 10 players — out of the remaining 26 on the final list — that received the most votes, following the arrangement of one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three strikers, plus the outfield player with the most votes after those 10.
