List of 10 candidates for the World Cup Golden Ball award

With excellent performance at the 2014 World Cup, stars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, James Rodriguez, Kroos, Mueller, Robben... were included by FIFA in the list of 10 candidates for the Golden Ball award.

Faces in the 2014 World Cup Golden Ball vote

The FIFA Golden Ball World Cup 2014 award is given to the best player of the 2014 World Cup finals and is voted for by members of the FIFA Study Group.

In the list of 10 nominees for the best players of the World Cup, there are 7 names that are likely to appear in the final match. Argentina has 3 positions: Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria, Javier Mascherano, Germany has 4 players selected: Mats Hummels, Toni Kroos, Philipp Lahm and Thomas Mueller. The remaining 3 positions belong to Neymar (Brazil), James Rodriguez (Colombia) and Arjen Robben (Netherlands).

According to experts, although FIFA has selected 10 names, Messi, Neymar, James Rodriguez, Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller will be the most promising candidates.

Messi will be in the World Cup final for the first time, he was the leader leading Argentina to the final match with 4 goals and 1 assist for his teammate. Meanwhile, Neymar also had a successful World Cup when he was the main factor of the Brazilian team with 4 goals and 1 assist. Unfortunately, a back injury prevented him from playing in the last 2 matches of the Selecao.

James Rodriguez, the player leading the scoring list with 6 goals, is also a strong candidate for the "Golden Ball" title. The 22-year-old talent is the inspiration for Colombia, helping the South American team only stop at the host Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Toni Kroos - the brain in the midfield of the German national team. The 24-year-old player was the brightest star in the 7-1 victory over host Brazil with 2 goals and 1 assist. Since the beginning of the tournament, Kroos has had 3 assists, but the most important thing is to regulate and control the midfield, helping Die Mannschaft always have a solid position.

With an impressive performance since the beginning of the tournament, Thomas Mueller is also a bright name for this title. This 24-year-old striker has scored 5 goals and is currently a bright candidate for the Golden Boot title.

Previous World Cup Golden Ball titles:

1982 FIFA World Cup Spain: Paolo Rossi (Italy)

1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico: Diego Maradona (Argentina)

1990 FIFA World Cup Italy: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)

1994 FIFA World Cup USA: Romario (Brazil)

1998 FIFA World Cup France: Ronaldo (Brazil)

2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan: Oliver Kahn (Germany)

2006 FIFA World Cup Germany Zinedine Zidane (France)

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa: Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

Source: FOOTBALL +