Ballon d’Or: Oshoala out of contention for the prestigious award

Image: Otvnaija

Super Falcons and Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala did not make the final list of the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. This was revealed when UEFA released the three final contenders for the 2022 UEFA Women’s Player of The Year accolade. The three players contending for the award include Beth Mead, Lena Oberdorf, and Alexia Putellas.

Recall that last week, Oshoala’s name was listed among the 20 women nominated for the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or. The development made her the first-ever African woman to achieve the feat.

The Barcelona Femini woman’s nomination comes after she won her fifth CAF Women’s Player of The Year last month. The record made her surpass fellow countrywoman Perpetua Nkwocha with four awards.

Asisat happens to be the only African, male or female, ever to win the award such a number of times.

Oshoala had a remarkable season; she was firing at optimum level though she was injured during the season. However, she always pumped in goals when she played, thus firing Barca to the domestic league title.

She was out for seven weeks due to injury, yet last season she finished as the Spanish topflight league’s top scorer with Barcelona Femeni. She banged in 20 goals in 19 games, tied with Madrid CFF’s Geyse Ferreira.

That feat earned her the Pichichi making it yet again the first time an African woman would be winning the award.

Though Barca lost to their close rivals Lyon in the Women’s Champions League final, the year was a successful one for the year Nigerian striker. She made her debut in 2014, leading Nigeria’s women’s U-20 side to the final of the U-20 World Cup in Canada against Germany.

The award ceremony will be coming up next week in Istanbul, and the Falcons striker will be missing in action for not making the final list.

About the three final players

Mead plays for Arsenal as an attacker. She was awarded Player of the Tournament at the Women’s Euros for leading the scoring charts in England’s triumph on home soil.

On the other hand, Oberdorf won the Young Player of the Tournament award after helping Germany to another final. She also played a crucial role in Wolfsburg winning the domestic double last season.

Putellas is a Spanish star who was absent from the tournament through injury. However, she held the 2021 Ballon d’Or Feminin. She enjoyed the most prolific season of her club career thanks to 34 goals in Barcelona’s clean sweep of Spanish trophies in 2021-22.

Source: punchng.com

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