FIFA has announced the contenders for the 2025 Puskas and Marta Awards, bestowed upon the scorer of the most beautiful goal notched in both men's and women's football, respectively, between Aug. 11, 2024, and Aug. 2, 2025 (inclusive) and part of The Best FIFA Football Awards gala held in Switzerland every January.
The Puskas Award had previously encompassed beautiful goals scored by anyone, anywhere in both men's and women's football (with the only stipulation being that the goal must have been scored on camera), but 2024 saw the launch of the inaugural Marta Award, which the eponymous Brazilian icon then went and won herself.
Indeed, Marta is once again on the short list for her own award this year with the winners of the two awards being ultimately determined by an equal split between the fan votes and those cast by an in-house panel of FIFA experts.
The short-listed goals have all been selected by FIFA and are plucked from a diverse array of competitions around the world, both domestic and international.
Last year's Puskas Award was claimed by then-Manchester United forward Alejandro Garnacho for his bicycle kick against Everton, with five of the past eight awards being won by goals scored in the English Premier League. However, previous recent winners have also hailed from the Brazilian second tier, the Malaysian Super League and even Polish Amputee football.
There are some big names on both shortlists for 2025 with Lamine Yamal and Declan Rice vying for the men's award, while Vivianne Miedema, Mariona Caldentey, and of course Marta, are in with a shout of taking the women's prize.
Without further ado, here is a list of the 11 contenders on the 2025 Puskas Award shortlist for the men, presented in alphabetical order.
Alerrandro | Vitoria vs. Cruzeiro | Aug. 19, 2024
With Vitoria already a goal ahead against Brazilian Serie A rivals Cruzeiro, Alerrandro was able to adapt quickly to a partially cut out cross, spin on his heels and find the far top corner with a brilliant improvised overhead volley.
Alessandro Deiola | Cagliari vs. Venezia | May 18, 2025
Cagliari were able to play their way out of the corner with a quick, clever interlaced passing maneuver finished with aplomb by Deiola, who sent a perfect curling finish past the Venezia goalkeeper from an acute angle to round off a 3-0 victory.
Pedro de la Vega | Seattle Sounders vs. Cruz Azul | July 31, 2025
The Sounders thrashed Cruz Azul in the 2025 Leagues Cup, with the goal of the game being De la Vega's outrageous first-time volley from the edge of the box that he skillfully guided beyond the stranded goalkeeper.
Santiago Montiel | Independiente vs. Independiente Rivadavia | May 11, 2025
Montiel scored the only goal of the game to win this Argentine Apertura clash for Independiente, and in some style via an enormous 25-yard overhead kick that sailed back over the goalkeeper and sent the stadium into raptures.
Amr Nasser | Pharco vs. Al Ahly | April 17, 2025
Pharco striker Amr Nasser pulled off a lightning-fast bicycle kick to find the net against Al Ahly in the Egyptian Capital Cup.
Carlos Orrantía | Atlas vs. Querétaro | April 16, 2025
Orrantia opened the scoring for Atlas in what proved to be a 2-1 victory over Queretaro in the Mexican Clausura back in April. After the goalkeeper had only partially cleared a looping cross, the full back skillfully juggled his way past a defender before sending a perfect volley into the top corner.
Declan Rice | Arsenal vs. Real Madrid | April 8, 2025
Perhaps the most high-profile goal on the men's shortlist belongs to Rice, whose sumptuously struck free kick against Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of last season's Champions League is among the favorites to claim the Award.
Lucas Ribeiro | Mamelodi Sundowns v. Borussia Dortmund | June 21, 2025
The first goal in what transpired to be a lively 4-3 defeat for the Sundowns at the Club World Cup, Ribeiro got things up and running after picking up possession in his own half and embarked on a powerful, direct charge up the center of the pitch, outpacing several Dortmund defenders before drumming a precise finish past the goalkeeper.
Rizky Ridho | Persija Jakarta v. Arema | March 9, 2025
With a run that started on his own goal line, Persija captain Ridho sprinted up the touchline to latch onto a pass before spotting Arema goalkeeper out of position and sending a shot over his head from the halfway line.
Kévin Rodrigues | Kasimpasa v. Rizespor | Feb. 9, 2025
With the first goal of the game in a 3-2 Turkish Super Lig win for Kasimpasa, Rodrigues found himself directly underneath a headed clearance which he duly volleyed back into the far top corner from 25 yards out.
Lamine Yamal | Barcelona vs. Espanyol | May 15, 2025
Yamal put Barcelona on the road to a straightforward 2-0 win over local rivals Espanyol, cutting in from the right flank and bending an unstoppable finish into the top corner.
And here are 11 contenders on the 2025 Marta Award shortlist for the women, also presented in alphabetical order.
Jordyn Bugg | Seattle Reign vs. North Carolina Courage | March 22, 2025
Center back Bugg notched what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for the Reign when she collected a high defensive clearance, controlled it perfectly and then torpedoed a long-range strike into the top corner from 30 yards.
Mariona Caldentey | Arsenal vs. OL Lyonnes | April 27, 2025
With half-time looming in the Women's Champions League semifinals, Arsenal star Caldentey doubled the club's lead with a perfectly judged long-range effort. The Gunners would go onto win 4-1 against Lyon to wrap up a 5-3 aggregate victory, before going onto winning the tournament outright against Barcelona.
Ashley Cheatley | Brentford vs. Ascot United | Nov. 3, 2024
The Women's FA Cup tie was graced by a wonderful virtuoso volley from Cheatley, who had to juggle her way out of an awkward position, flick it over the head of her marker and then score from eight yards with an acrobatic finish.
Kyra Cooney-Cross | Australia vs. Germany | Oct. 28, 2024
Australia came from behind and mustered a shock 2-1 win over Germany in an international friendly as Cooney-Cross set the tone for the upset by equalizing with a mammoth lob from 50 yards out.
Jon Ryong-jong | Korea DPR vs. Argentina | Sept. 2, 2024
North Korea trounced Argentina 6-2 in the group stage of the Women's U20 World Cup with Ryong-jong registering the best goal of the rout just 10 minutes in with this 25-yard strike.
Marta | Orlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current | Nov. 17, 2024
Marta speaks after her goal helped Orlando Pride defeat KC Current in the NWSL playoff semifinals.
Aiming for her second Marta Award in succession, the 39-year-old Brazilian veteran is in with a strong shout thanks to this solo effort against the Current, in which she sprinted into the area, feinted past two defenders, then the goalkeeper before nonchalantly rolling the ball into an empty net.
Vivianne Miedema | Netherlands vs. Wales | July 5, 2025
Miedema scored her 100th international goal for Netherlands with a fitting flourish against Wales, nimbly rolling the ball onto her left, then rolling it back onto her right to flummox the defense before hitting the net with an arching strike from 20 yards out.
Kishi Núñez | Argentina vs. Costa Rica | Sept. 8, 2024
Another one from the group stage of the Women's U20 World Cup saw Nunez wriggle away from a small cluster of Costa Rica defenders before launching a superb long-range finish from 40 yards out.
Lizbeth Ovalle | Tigres vs. Guadalajara | March 3, 2025
It's little surprise that Ovalle went viral with her inventive airborne volley against Guadalajara in the Mexican Liga MX Femenil thanks to an unorthodox technique that was subsequently dubbed "The Shrimp" -- for obvious reasons.
Ally Sentnor | USA vs. Colombia | Feb. 20, 2025
The USWNT beat Colombia 2-0 in its opening game at the 2025 SheBelieves Cup with the decisive goal coming from Sentnor, who darted into a pocket of space before smashing a powerful shot into the top corner from distance.
Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw | Manchester City vs. Hammarby | Nov. 21, 2024
Shaw became City's all-time top goal scorer in the Champions League with two goals in a 2-1 win against Hammarby. After a surging dribble from Jess Park saw City advance, Shaw took possession on the edge of the area, cut away from her marker and rocketed a shot into the top corner.