2024 Best FIFA Men’s Eleven: Lookman and Troost-Ekong Nominated
Super Eagles stars Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong have been included in the nominations for the 2024 Best FIFA Men’s Eleven, securing their reputation and status as two of Nigeria’s finest football talents.
Ademola Lookman earned his nomination in the attacker’s category after an exceptional season with Atalanta and the Super Eagles in the African Cup of Nations 2023. In the Europa League final of the 2023/24 season, he netted a hat trick against unbeaten giants Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Against all odds, he spurred his team to lift their first European trophy. In this Best FIFA’s Men category, he’ll be competing against elite players like Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and a few others.
William Troost-Ekong, however, earned a spot in the defenders’ category, joining 19 other exceptional players such as Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba of Arsenal.
The final selection for the Best FIFA’s Men will be determined by way of voting. That is, fans and journalists will vote, giving supporters the opportunity to decide which players will make the chosen 11.
As said earlier, Lookman’s nomination follows a stellar year for both club and country. His exploits earned him a 14th-place finish in the 2024 Ballon d’Or rankings and positioned him as one of the frontrunners for the African Men’s Footballer of the Year award.
Troost Ekong also enjoyed an elite year of football after having a not-so-good season at the Greek side, PAOK FC. He switched the music and put in a stellar performance with the Nigerian national team, captaining them all the way to the finals. In addition to winning the tournament’s Best Player title, Troost-Ekong led Nigeria to their first final in ten years thanks to his defensive leadership. He barely made the final cut of the African Men’s Footballer of the Year shortlist, but his candidacy for the Best FIFA Men’s 11 is evidence of his impact on the pitch and consistency.
Below is the list of nominations for Men.
Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid and Spain)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City and Norway)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid and Uruguay)
Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid and England)
Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid and France)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona and Spain)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami and Argentina)
Rodri (Manchester City and Spain)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid and Germany) – (Now retired)
Vinicius Jr. (Real Madrid and Brazil)
Best Men’s Goalkeeper.
Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid and Ukraine)
David Raya (Arsenal and Spain)
Ederson (Manchester City and Brazil)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa and Argentina)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Italy)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan and France)
Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao and Spain)
How excited are you for Ademola Lookman and Troost Ekong?
