SOCCER
World Cup champion Lionel Messi edged Kylian Mbappé again, this time to take FIFA’s best men’s player award on Monday.
The best women’s player was Spain’s Alexia Putellas for a second straight year.
After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappé’s France last year in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote against Mbappé and Karim Benzema and secured the FIFA prize for the seventh time in 14 years. He won the World Cup at his record-equaling fifth attempt.
The three players made the final shortlist in voting by a global panel of national team captains and coaches, selected journalists in each of FIFA’s 211 member countries, plus fans online. In the FIFA Awards vote, Messi had 52 points, Mbappé 44, and Benzema 34.
Putellas won her award over Alex Morgan of the United States and Beth Mead, who led England to the European Championship title in 2022. Barcelona playmaker Putellas made the top three again despite being injured days before the Euro and missing the tournament. She scored 34 goals across all competitions last season.
• Argentina Coach Lionel Scaloni was voted FIFA men’s coach of the year on Monday after leading his team to the World Cup title in December.
The women’s coach award went to Sarina Wiegman, who led the England to the title at the Women’s European Championship.
The Argentine Football Association confirmed that Scaloni will remain as coach of Argentina to the end of the 2026 World Cup. They didn’t elaborate any further.
SOUTH KOREA COACH: Former Germany great Jurgen Klinsmann was hired Monday to coach South Korea’s national soccer team.
The 58-year-old Klinsmann, who won the World Cup as a player with West Germany in 1990, replaces Paulo Bento. The Portuguese coach left the team after leading South Korea to the second round at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
After a successful playing career, Klinsmann coached Germany to the World Cup semifinals in 2006 and then led the United States to the round of 16 in 2014. He also coached German club Bayern Munich, one of his former teams.
HIGH SCHOOLS
GIRLS’ HOCKEY: The Maine High School Girls’ Hockey Coaches Association postponed its Senior All-Star Game and Awards Night scheduled for Tuesday due to the impending storm.
The game will now be played March 9 at 7:30 p.m., and is moved to Troubh Ice Arena in Portland. The sixth annual Becky Schaffer Award will also be presented, and the All-State and All-Conference teams will be announced.
TENNIS
RANKING RECORD: Novak Djokovic broke the record for the most time spent at No. 1 in the professional tennis rankings by a man or woman, beginning his 378th week in the ATP’s top spot on Monday to surpass Steffi Graf’s 377 leading the WTA.
He already held the men’s mark, eclipsing Roger Federer’s old ATP standard of 310 weeks in March 2021. After Djokovic and Graf on the all-time No. 1 weeks list are Martina Navratilova, with 332, and Serena Williams, with 319, followed by Federer. The computerized rankings began in the 1970s.
Djokovic has finished seven years atop the ATP, another men’s record.
DUBAI CHAMPIONSHIPS: Andrey Rublev began his Dubai Championships title defense by spoiling Filip Krajinovic’s birthday when he won 7-5, 6-2 on Monday.
Krajinovic, who turned 31, raced 5-2 ahead. The second-seeded Rublev then reeled off 11 of the next 13 games. Rublev next faces Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who beat Malek Jaziri in straight sets in the Tunisian’s last pro match.
Also, Alexander Zverev beat Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
BASKETBALL
WORLD CUP: The Basketball World Cup field is now filled, with Serbia grabbing the last spot in this summer’s 32-team tournament.
Serbia clinched the berth with a 101-83 win over Great Britain on Monday. The win means that two-time reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets – if he is so inclined – will have the chance to play for a World Cup this summer, when the tournament get held in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. Serbia’s win in Belgrade eliminated Belgium, the last team that still had a chance to qualify.
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