Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrates with teammate Sadio Mane after scoring his sides first goal during the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on April 10, 2018 in Manchester, England. /Getty Images
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegalese duo Sadio Mané and Kalidou Koulibaly are among 55 footballers shortlisted for the FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 2019.
The list consists of 5 goalkeepers, 20 defenders, 15 midfielders and 15 forwards.
Salah and Mané were instrumental for their club Liverpool helping them to win a 6th UEFA Champions League title, finish second in the Premier League and win the UEFA Super Cup. Koulibaly, a defender who plays for Italian club Napoli, was a key figure in their second-place finish in the league behind Juventus.
Internationally, Salah helped Egypt reach the quarterfinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations while Mané and Koulibaly finished as runners-up behind champions Algeria.
All professional footballers are invited by FIFPro to pick a team of eleven players who they believe have been most outstanding in their position over the past year.
The players must choose one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. They are free to pick any player from all professional footballers worldwide.
The final FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 2019 will be revealed at The Best FIFA Football Award ceremony on September 23.
FIFPro is the global footballers’ union representing more than 60,000 male and female players. It has 65 national players’ associations as its members.
Source(s): FIFA