The three finalists for the FIFA Puskás Award have been revealed, with astonishing goals from Marcin Oleksy, Dimitri Payet and Richarlison in the running for the illustrious honour.
The accolade recognises the year’s most spectacular goal across men’s and women’s football and the winner will be announced at a Paris ceremony on 27 February 2023. A total of 11 goals were initially nominated for the Puskás Award.
From this shortlist, the three finalists have been selected by fans who voted on FIFA’s official website as well as expert panelists.
We have our finalists for #TheBest FIFA Puskás Award! 💫
🇧🇷 @richarlison97
🇵🇱 Marcin Oleksy
🇫🇷 @dimpayet17— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 10, 2023
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Marcin Oleksy (Warta Poznan v Stal Rzeszow, 06/11/2022)
Oleksy’s goal in his words… “My teammate Dawid [Novak] played the pass. When I saw him approaching the ball, I knew it was coming to me. I connected really cleanly. It was pure. When I hit it, I was following the ball all the way with my eyes and I saw it go into the corner of the net. I always wanted to score a beautiful goal. You could see how proud it made me after I scored. I stood up tall, I put my chest out. I was just so, so happy.”
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Dimitri Payet (Olympique Marseille v PAOK Thessaloniki, 07/04/2022)
Marseille captain Payet added another special strike to his burgeoning collection of magnificent long-range goals in this UEFA Conference League quarter-final encounter.
Payet was positioned menacingly 25 yards from goal when he was spied by corner-taker Cengiz Under. Under clipped a pass into Payet’s path, and the Frenchman duly showcased his immaculate technique to blast a trademark thunderbolt into the top corner of the net.
Payet’s goal in his words… “I took the shot in a casual manner as if it was during training. I think this sense of relaxation made the movement fluid. I couldn’t have hit it better.
It bounced before and it sat up perfectly for a left-footed shot. It was a difficult move but I did it without pressure and I think I scored because I was relaxed when I took the shot. I enjoyed it because it’s a goal that people will remember and it’s a goal that mattered.”
Richarlison (Brazil v Serbia, 24/11/2022)
Brazil ace Richarlison won the Qatar 2022 Goal of the Tournament award for this stunning effort in a 2-0 group-stage win over Serbia.
The attacker, high on confidence having opened the scoring in the game, controlled Vinicius Junior’s driven pass before swivelling his frame and sending an amazing acrobatic volley beyond goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Richarlison’s goal in his words… “It was a very beautiful goal. I had scored one like that previously for Fluminense and a similar one for Everton. I had the chance to score a scissor-kick goal again and I think it was one of the most beautiful goals my career, because it was in the World Cup and in a game that was difficult for us.”