England’s Lionesses have been shortlisted for the prestigious Laureus World Team of the Year award after winning Euro 2022 last summer.
Argentina’s men’s team have been shortlisted too after winning the World Cup in December, while Lionel Messi has been nominated for Sportsman of the Year — a title he shared with Lewis Hamilton in 2020.
The Lionesses won all six of their matches at last summer’s Euros on home soil, with Sarina Wiegman leading England to victory in the final at Wembley against Germany in extra-time.
“We’re really honoured that we are nominated, especially for such a prestigious award,” said Wiegman.
“We have been seen everywhere over the world for what we’ve done, and that’s just really nice to be acknowledged.”
The Lionesses are up against the Argentina men’s football team, Real Madrid men’s team, France’s men’s rugby, Golden State Warriors in basketball and F1’s Red Bull for the team award.
Meanwhile, Messi will battle Steph Curry, Armand Duplantis, Kylian Mbappe, Max Verstappen and Rafael Nadal for the title of Sportsman of the Year.
Tennis player Iga Swiatek is shortlisted for the Sportswoman of the Year, as is Spanish footballer Alexia Putellas despite her missing last summer’s Euros due to a serious knee injury.
