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Soccer

The Best Awards: FIFA reveals finalists for 2020 honors

FIFA has unveiled the finalists for its marquee honors ahead of this month’s The Best Football Awards show, with a collection of the game’s top players in direct competition for silverware.

After this year’s Ballon d’Or was scrapped due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, FIFA’s annual honors represent the only opportunity for the top men’s and women’s footballers to collect personal hardware in 2020.

The award winners will be announced on Dec. 17.

Here are the finalists for the main individual accolades:

Best Men’s Player

  • Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus and Portugal)
  • Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
  • Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich and Poland)

Best Women’s Player

  • Lucy Bronze (Manchester City and England)
  • Pernille Harder (Chelsea and Denmark)
  • Wendie Renard (Lyon and France)

Best Men’s Coach

  • Marcelo Bielsa (Leeds United)
  • Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich)
  • Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Best Women’s Coach

  • Emma Hayes (Chelsea)
  • Jean-Luc Vasseur (Lyon)
  • Sarina Wiegman (Netherlands)

Best Men’s Goalkeeper

  • Alisson Becker (Liverpool and Brazil)
  • Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany)
  • Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid and Slovenia)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper

  • Sarah Bouhaddi (Lyon and France)
  • Christiane Endler (Paris Saint-Germain and Chile)
  • Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars and United States)

Puskas Award (best goal)

  • Giorgian De Arrascaeta: Flamengo vs. Ceara (Aug. 25, 2019)
  • Heung-Min Son: Tottenham vs. Burnley (Dec. 7, 2019)
  • Luis Suarez: Barcelona vs. Mallorca (Dec. 7, 2019)

Other honors set to be doled out include FIFA’s Fair Play and Fan awards, while both the men’s and women’s FIFPro World XIs will also be unveiled during a virtual ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland.

NFL

Panthers' Samuel off virus list; Moore likely out

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers wide receiver Curtis Samuel was activated Friday from the reserve/COVID-19 list and will play Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

However, fellow wideout DJ Moore remains on the reserve list and is unlikely to be available for the 1 p.m. ET game between the 4-8 teams. Moore has not practiced all week since being one of eight players added to the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday.

Of those on the 53-man roster placed on the reserve list, only Moore and defensive tackle Zach Kerr remain on it. Samuel, outside linebacker Shaq Thompson and defensive tackle Derrick Moore were removed from the list Friday, and all are expected to play Sunday.

Soccer

Report: AC Milan, Arsenal target Szoboszlai to join RB Leipzig for €25M

Hungarian talent Dominik Szoboszlai, one of the most sought-after youngsters in European football, is set to snub AC Milan and Arsenal and complete a move to RB Leipzig, The Guardian’s Fabrizio Romano reports.

Szoboszlai, who currently stars for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, is reportedly expected to stay in the Red Bull family with Leipzig. The club will simply have to pay €25 million to activate his release clause.

Once official, the 20-year-old will sign a five-year contract with Julian Nagelsmann’s side, according to Romano.

Milan and Arsenal had long been linked with the attacking midfielder, who has shone at both club and international level. His last-minute winner against Iceland – a tremendous solo effort in the 92nd minute – clinched Hungary’s place at Euro 2020.

In the summer, Milan seemed the most likely destination for Szoboszlai. Ralf Rangnick, who had been working as Red Bull’s head of sport and development, was in discussions to take over as Milan’s technical director before eventually withdrawing from negotiations.

Szoboszlai was also on Arsenal’s short list of potential signings ahead of the upcoming transfer window. The Gunners have reportedly identified Lyon’s Houssem Aouar as one of their targets.

Salzburg manager Jesse Marsch said Szoboszlai was likely to leave the club in January.

“The reality is that a guy like Dominik Szoboszlai is likely to have many suitors this winter. He’s an incredible talent,” Marsch said on the “Futbol with Grant Wahl” podcast.

“Let’s see what happens, but I would be surprised if he winds up staying past winter.”

Salzburg dropped down to the Europa League after finishing third in Champions League Group A.

Szoboszlai has racked up eight goals and six assists in all competitions so far this season.

NFL

Cards' Fitzgerald on virus: Puts life in perspective

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald said his mind wandered to dark places and he started preparing for the worst-case scenario during his 13-day quarantine at home because of the coronavirus.

Fitzgerald, 37, was put on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thanksgiving. He started feeling symptoms two days later, and they continued through the weekend and into that Monday.

“I think the scariest part, and I think anybody that’s had it, is nobody really can give you any answers,” Fitzgerald said. “You learn new information every single day. You feel symptoms and you ask, and nobody really can tell you, ‘It’s gonna be better,’ or, ‘This is how long it would usually last.’

“I mean, there’s no real answer, so your mind kind of wonders and you’re sitting at home, and you’re watching TV and you see the cases and you see the deaths across the nation, and all these things are running through your mind and, obviously, you worry. But, fortunately, I was able to get through it and I feel much better.”

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