FIFA Football Awards: Tottenham star Son Heung-min headlines World XI nomination
CGTN

South Korea's Son Heung-min became the first Asian player to be included in the FIFA FIFPro men's World XI shortlist, as football‘s world governing body announced the candidates for this year's edition of the awards on Thursday. 

According to FIFA, the World XI is decided by the players and involves votes from thousands of professional footballers from across the world. During voting, the players each select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. 

Twenty-one of the 55 nominees play in the Premier League, which has the most number of nominations for the first time in 10 years, ending La Liga's dominance. 

Spanish powerhouses Barcelona (11) and Real Madrid (9) still dominate in terms of club representation, while eight Manchester City players make the cut, followed by seven from 2018/19 Champions League winner Liverpool. 

The final team will be revealed at the Best FIFA Football Awards in Milan on September 23. 

European champions Liverpool lead the way among English teams with seven nominations. /VCG Photo

European champions Liverpool lead the way among English teams with seven nominations. /VCG Photo

The full list of 55 players selected:


Goalkeepers

Alisson Becker (BRA) - Liverpool FC 
David De Gea (ESP) - Manchester United 
Ederson Moraes (BRA) - Manchester City 
Jan Oblak (SVN) - Atletico Madrid 
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (GER) - FC Barcelona 

Defenders

Jordi Alba (ESP) - FC Barcelona 
Trent Alexander-Arnold (ENG) - Liverpool FC 
Dani Alves (BRA) - Paris Saint-Germain / Sao Paulo FC 
Joao Cancelo (POR) - Juventus / Manchester City 
Daniel Carvajal (ESP) - Real Madrid 
Giorgio Chiellini (ITA) - Juventus 
Matthijs de Ligt (NED) - Ajax / Juventus 
Diego Godin (URU) - Atletico Madrid / Internazionale 
Joshua Kimmich (GER) - Bayern Munich 
Kalidou Koulibaly (SEN) - SSC Napoli 
Aymeric Laporte (FRA) - Manchester City 
Marcelo (BRA) - Real Madrid 
Gerard Pique (ESP) - FC Barcelona 
Sergio Ramos (ESP) - Real Madrid 
Andrew Robertson (SCO) - Liverpool FC 
Alex Sandro (BRA) - Juventus 
Thiago Silva (BRA) - Paris Saint-Germain 
Virgil van Dijk (NED) - Liverpool FC 
Raphael Varane (FRA) - Real Madrid 
Kyle Walker (ENG) - Manchester City 

Midfielders

Sergio Busquets (ESP) - FC Barcelona 
Casemiro (BRA) - Real Madrid 
Kevin de Bruyne (BEL) - Manchester City 
Frenkie de Jong (NED) - Ajax / FC Barcelona 
Christian Eriksen (DEN) - Tottenham Hotspur 
Eden Hazard (BEL) - Chelsea FC / Real Madrid 
N'Golo Kante (FRA) - Chelsea FC 
Toni Kroos (GER) - Real Madrid 
Arthur Melo (BRA) - FC Barcelona 
Luka Modric (CRO) - Real Madrid 
Paul Pogba (FRA) - Manchester United 
Ivan Rakitic (CRO) - FC Barcelona 
Bernardo Silva (POR) - Manchester City 
Dusan Tadic (SRB) - Ajax 
Arturo Vidal (CHI) - FC Barcelona 

Forwards

Sergio Aguero (ARG) - Manchester City 
Karim Benzema (FRA) - Real Madrid 
Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) - Juventus 
Roberto Firmino (BRA) - Liverpool FC 
Antoine Griezmann (FRA) - Atletico Madrid / FC Barcelona 
Son Heungmin (KOR) - Tottenham Hotspur 
Harry Kane (ENG) - Tottenham Hotspur 
Robert Lewandowski (POL) - Bayern Munich 
Sadio Mane (SEN) - Liverpool FC 
Kylian Mbappe (FRA) - Paris Saint-Germain 
Lionel Messi (ARG) - FC Barcelona 
Neymar (BRA) - Paris Saint-Germain 
Mohamed Salah (EGY) - Liverpool FC 
Raheem Sterling (ENG) - Manchester City 
Luis Suarez (URU) - FC Barcelona