Robert Lewandowski has been awarded Best Men’s Player of the Year by FIFA, beating Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the process. 

The striker enjoyed an unprecedented year, winning a host of team and individual awards including; the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and Bundesliga Player of the Season. His performances over the past year meant he was favourite to win the award and rightly so.

He scored 34 goals in 31 Bundesliga games last season and has continued his form into this season, netting 15 times in just 11 games.

Footballers tend to decline into their 30’s but Lewandowski has shown no sign of slowing down. In fact, you could argue he’s only getting better. He’s in better shape than ever and his progress off the pitch is bearing results for his club and country. Much credit should go to Bayern Munich whose strength and conditioning programme has physically transformed several of their players.

The next step for Lewandowski is to enter 2021 in the same vain as he started and finished 2020. He will no doubt have his eyes on the 2021 Ballon d’Or, an award his missed out on this year due to cancellation owing to Covid-19.

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FIFA have announced that Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski will make up the final three players contesting for the title of Best Men’s Player 2020.

This marks the first inclusion as a finalist for Robert Lewandowski, while Cristiano Ronaldo (2) and Messi (1) have both won the award since it started in 2016.

Lewandowski is seen as the favourite for the award having enjoyed an unbelievable 2020. The Polish striker has averaged more than a goal a game this year while also helping his team win a multitude of honours including; UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga & DFB-Pokal.

Some football fans have also suggested that Lewandowski was “robbed” of a Ballon D’or, with the prestigious individual award being cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are both – for once – seen as outsiders for the award.

FIFA have also announced the finalists for their other categories:

The Best FIFA Women’s Player:

• Lucy Bronze (England / Olympique Lyonnais / Manchester City WFC)
• Pernille Harder (Denmark / VfL Wolfsburg / Chelsea FC Women)
• Wendie Renard (France / Olympique Lyonnais)

The Best FIFA Men’s Player:

• Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal / Juventus FC)
• Robert Lewandowski (Poland / FC Bayern München)
• Lionel Messi (Argentina / FC Barcelona)

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper

• Sarah Bouhaddi (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
• Christiane Endler (Chile / Paris Saint-Germain)
• Alyssa Naeher (USA / Chicago Red Stars)

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:

• Alisson Becker (Brazil / Liverpool FC)
• Manuel Neuer (Germany / FC Bayern München)
• Jan Oblak (Slovenia / Atlético de Madrid)

The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:

• Emma Hayes (England / Chelsea FC Women)
• Jean-Luc Vasseur (France / Olympique Lyonnais)
• Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands / Dutch national team)

The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:

• Marcelo Bielsa (Argentina / Leeds United FC)
• Hans-Dieter Flick (Germany / FC Bayern München)
• Jürgen Klopp (Germany / Liverpool FC)

FIFA Puskás Award:

• Giorgian De Arrascaeta (URU) – Ceará SC v. CR Flamengo [Brasileirão – Brazil] (25 August 2019)
• Son Heung-min (KOR) – Tottenham Hotspur FC v. Burnley FC [Premier League – England] (7 December 2019)
• Luis Suárez (URU) – FC Barcelona v. RCD Mallorca [LaLiga] – Spain] (7 December 2019)

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In League B’s Group 4, Ireland suffered a 1-0 defeat against Finland in what was another disappointing result for the boys in green. The only goal of the match came through Fredrik Jensen, a man Ireland fans will be familiar with having also scored the winner in the Aviva. The goal was a result of an uncustomary mistake from Darren Randolph, who carelessly gave the ball away which resulted in simple finish. The loss means Ireland remain in 3^rd, but are looming dangerously close to an automatic relegation spot.

Frustrating result in Helsinki

FT | Finland 1-0 Ireland

Jensen’s goal the difference as Ronan Curtis’ header denied in the final minutes #COYBIG | #FINIRL pic.twitter.com/7nnkxtXevC

— FAIreland (@FAIreland) October 14, 2020

Elsewhere in the group, Wales’ late winner against Bulgaria mean they remain on top of the table by 1 point.

In League A, Poland trounced Bosnia with a 3-0 win in Group 1. Bosnia did themselves no favours after getting a man sent off just 14 minutes into the game. Polish talisman Robert Lewandowski exploited Bosnian misfortune by netting a brace. This result means that Poland jump above Italy and Netherlands after they played out a 1-1 draw elsewhere in the group.

Group 2 seen Denmark defeat England in what was a disastrous performance from Harry Maguire. Maguire picked up his second yellow in the 31^st minute which led to Christian Eriksen converting from the spot. His performance will only have further compounded his misery after a turbulent few weeks. England now drop to 3^rd, having been in 1^st before yesterday’s fixtures.

Belgium also defeated Iceland 2-1 with Romelu Lukaku impressing as he scored 2 goals. Belgium have now leapfrogged England to claim 1^st position in the group.

Group 3 standings remained the same as France defeated Croatia and a Diego Jota inspired Portugal comfortably dispatched of Sweden. The newly signed Liverpool man claimed an assist and two goals in what was a man of the match performance, showing that he could do the business in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence.

There were no group 4 matches played yesterday. Spain remain top of the group on 7 points despite a shock loss to Ukraine on Tuesday. Germany and the aforementioned Ukraine are just one point behind on 6 points.

Back to League B and Norway overcame Northern Ireland by way of a Stuart Dallas own goal in Group 1. Erling Braut Haaland failed to find his form against the North after netting his first international hat trick against Romania on Sunday. He will however be happy with Norway’s league position as they remain 2^nd, only level on points with Austria.

On the topic of Austria, they managed to overcome Romania in a match which ended 1-0.

Scotland retained their 100% unbeaten record in Group 2 with a win against Czech Republic, despite being dominated for much of the game. Ryan Fraser scored the only goal of the game after some great work by Lyndon Dykes to ensure the win.

Israel and Slovakia played out a memorable game in the same group, with a late Eran Zahavi goal awarding Israel a 3-2 scoreline. Zahavi will be taking home the match ball after scoring 2 goals prior to his winner in what was a man of the match performance. He will be hoping to make his mark on the Dutch league having recently signed for PSV Eindhoven.

Hat-trick for Zahavi tonight! #NationsLeague https://t.co/QCYBMX5MVM

— UEFA Nations League (@EURO2020) October 14, 2020

There were two draws in group 3 as Russia played out a stalemate with Hungary and Turkey drew 2-2 with Serbia. The results mean that Russia remain on top with 8 points, having not lost so far in the group.

Onto League C and there were no matches played in Group 1 yesterday. Luxembourg and Montenegro are currently battling for promotion to League B as both teams are stuck on 9 points.

Group 2 seen two 1-1 draws with Estonia playing Armenia and North Macedonia facing Georgia. North Macedonia and Georgia are level on top with 6 points while Armenia lurk just behind on 5 points.

Perhaps the best team in League C, Slovenia stayed atop of Group 3 as they slotted 4 past Moldova while maintaining a clean sheet. Haris Vuckic bagged a hat trick as he finished two opportunities from the spot.

Elsewhere in the group, Greece and Kosovo played out a scoreless draw despite Greece controlling a large majority of the game. Arijanet Muric didn’t make it easy for Greece as he produced a man of the match performance in the net for Kosovo. Greece are just 2 points off top while Kosovo and Moldova are embroiled in a relegation battle.

Group 4 seen Belarus defeat Kazakhstan while Lithuania managed a scoreless draw against Albania. Albania are underachieving in the group so far, sitting in 3^rd while Belarus remain on top and Lithuania remain in 2^nd.

All of League D’s matches were played on Tuesday so there was no fixtures yesterday.

Faroe Islands sit comfortably on top of Group 1 with Malta in 2^nd, Latvia in 3^rd and Andorra sitting at the bottom of the table.

Gibraltar have a 100% winning record in Group 2 and remain on top while Liechtenstein are two points behind in 2^nd. Minnows San Marino are stuck at the bottom of the table, but they will be happy as they managed to gather their first ever Nations League point with a draw against Liechtenstein on Tuesday.

Best Performers:  Eran Zahavi, Robert Lewandowski, Diego Jota, Haris Vuckic, Arijanet Muric

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