Argentina’s national soccer team, which ranks first in the FIFA rankings in 2023, has been named the World Sports Reporters Association (AIPS) team of the year. It is the second consecutive year that the team has acquired the award since last year.
AIPS said on the 31st (Korea Standard Time), “Argentina ranked first in the Team of the Year category selected by a panel of 405 members from 107 countries.”
Argentina ranked first with a total of 666 votes. Manchester City ranked third with 440 votes, Spain’s women’s soccer team (308 votes), South Africa’s men’s rugby team (286 votes), Germany’s men’s basketball team (234 votes), Hungary’s women’s sabre team (227 votes), and Real Madrid (175 votes). 헤라카지노
At the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar final that ended in December, Argentina won the world title after a bloody shootout against France. At that time, the two teams exchanged performances of Angel DiMaria (one goal), Lionel Messi (two goals), and Kylian Mbappe (three goals) and finished the 120 minutes 3-3. Later, Argentina won the match 4-2 thanks to Emiliano Martinez’s strong performance. It was the third time in 36 years since the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
Argentina continued to win in 2023. “Messi led Argentina with 9 wins, 1 loss, 23 points, and two runs in 10 games. It continued its upward trend with almost perfect performance,” the AIPS said.
Argentina has never missed the top spot in the FIFA rankings since April. It has thus maintained its status as the “best team in the world” for two consecutive years.
Meanwhile, Messi also embraced the Ballon d’Or, which is given to the world’s best player. He won for the eighth time in his career. He also applauded and praised Mbappe and Erling Hallan (Manchester City), who competed together after he stepped on the podium.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic of Serbia was named the “Men’s Player of the Year” of the Year. He has topped the world rankings of men’s singles for the eighth consecutive year and won the title in six competitions including three Grand Slams. Djokovic received 616 votes, beating over runner Armand Duplantis of Sweden, Messi (277 votes), and Holan (229 votes).
The female athlete of the year was Simone Biles of the U.S., the “Gymn of Gymnastics.” After a two-year hiatus, Biles returned in June and won the individual all-around at the 2023 U.S. Classic. Her eighth career championship. She then grabbed four gold medals in team, individual all-around, average, and maru events at the World Championships held in Antwerp, Belgium in October.