Messi, Falcao, Neymar make 10-man Puskas Award shortlist

The 10 nominees for the 2012 Puskas Award – a list of the top 10 ‘most beautiful’ goals of the year, has been revealed by FIFA.

They include: Agyemang Badu from Ghana, last year’s winner Neymar, Lionel Messi, Hatem Ben Arfa, Radamel Falcao, Moussa Sow, Eric Hassli of Vancouver Whitecaps, Miroslav Stoch and Nacional Potosi’s Gaston Mealla.

Interestingly, there is representation from women’s football – Olivia Jimenez’s stunning long-range effort for Mexico against Switzerland at the Women’s Under-20 World Cup.

The list was drawn up by a panel of experts and members of FIFA’s Football Committee, but the winner will be decided by public voting. The first round of voting ends on November 29, while the winner will receive his plaque at the Ballon d’Or Gala on January 7.

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