FIFA Puskas Award 2022 finalists

I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say that the Puskas Award is probably the last prestigious award that FIFA hand out.

No one cares about either of their ‘The Best’ awards because the Ballon d’Or and Ballon d’Or Feminin are far more prestigious. No one remembers who wins the coach awards.

But the award for the best goal scored in any given year? Yeah, that’s the Puskas Award. No question.

FIFA have narrowed the 2022 shortlist down to three goals. Here’s how we at 90min think they should be ranked.

Occasion rating: 8/10
Audacity rating: 8/10
Aesthetics rating: 7/10
Uniqueness rating: 7/10
Total: 30/40

Full disclosure – I am a Tottenham fan who would very much like our players to have won three Puskas Awards in a row. Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela were the last two winners, it would be lovely for Richarlison to follow in their footsteps.

But as impressive and out-of-your-seat-screaming as his half-overhead half-scissor kick to open Brazil’s account at the 2022 World Cup was, it’s only enough to get on the podium.

Sorry, Mr Richard Arlison. Love you. Please don’t @ me.

Occasion rating: 6/10
Audacity rating: 9/10
Aesthetics rating: 9/10
Uniqueness rating: 8/10
Total: 32/40

The only real knock on Dimitri Payet’s screamer against PAOK is that it occurred in the Europa Conference League, which I’m refusing to count as canon until the year 2050, at which point there’s a good chance the Earth will have exploded by then.

Nous avons Payet, Dimitri Payet, je ne pense pas que tu comprennes…

Occasion rating: 5/10
Audacity rating: 10/10
Aesthetics rating: 10/10
Uniqueness rating: 10/10
Total: 35/40

A goal that gets laughably absurd the more you watch it, the more you think about the mechanics of it, the more you wonder how you would try and score it yourself.

Marcin Oleksy deserves the Puskas Award. Full stop.

READ NEXT: The 50 most expensive football transfers of all time