Matty Burrows v Lionel Messi for Fifa top goal award
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Matty Burrows' sensational goal for Glentoran against Portadown is shortlisted for Fifa's goal of the year
Glentoran's Matty Burrows will go head-to-head with Lionel Messi for Fifa's coveted Goal of the Year prize.
The pair have been named on a 10-man shortlist for the Fifa Puskas Award, along with the likes of Arjen Robben and Arsenal's Samir Nasri.
Burrows' incredible 20-yard back-heeled volley against Portadown last month has been seen by millions on the internet.
The player admitted: "I could maybe try to do that 100 times and it would only come off once - I caught it perfectly."
The 25-year-old's audacious goal came in the 92nd minute of Glentoran's 1-0 home victory in Northern Ireland's Premiership on 5 October.
When Burrows found out he had been nominated for the Fifa prize, named after Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas, he confessed: "The whole thing is unreal and it's only just sinking in."
Messi scored his nominated goal for Barcelona against Valencia when he wriggled past three players before rifling into the bottom corner.
Nasri has been rewarded for a similar effort against Porto, while Robben's was a fine individual effort for Bayern Munich, culminating in a sweet curled finish.
Retired Netherlands captain Giovanni van Bronckhorst is also in contention for his spectacular 30-yarder in the World Cup semi-final defeat of Uruguay, as is South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala, who scored the opening goal of the tournament against Mexico.
Kumi Yokoyama of Japan is the only woman shortlisted, with the nominees completed by Neymar (Santos), Hamit Altintop (Turkey) and Linus Hallenius of Sweden's Hammarby, who in one fluid movement took the ball on his chest, flicked it over his head with his right foot and volleyed in with his left from the edge of the box.
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