KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Faiz Subri, it’s time to dust off the tuxedo and book your flight ticket to Switzerland.
The 29-year-old Penang player was today officially shortlisted as among the top three nominees for the FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.
Faiz, Malaysia's first-ever nominee for the award, received the nod for his physics-defying knuckleball free-kick, during Penang's 4-1 win over Pahang in a Super League match on Feb 16, which had goalkeeper Nasril Nourdin rooted to the spot.
His inclusion means that he also beat out global superstars such as Lionel Messi and Neymar, who failed to make the cut.
As of 2pm today, as many as 1,348,827 people have viewed Faiz’s wonder goal online.
The other two players who were shortlisted for the final are Corinthians attacking midfielder Marlone, and Venezuela’s female player Daniuska Rodriguez.
Marlone’s goal came via a volley in a Copa Libertadores match against Cobresal in April. Rodriguez, meanwhile, scored a solo effort for Venezuela against Colombia in the Women's Under-17 Sudamericano Championship in March.
The three-player shortlist was trimmed down from an original 10 goals.
Fans from around the world now have a fresh opportunity to vote, with the results of the second round added to the first to determine the overall winner.
The winner, decided by that combined total of votes, will be presented with the award at the ceremony in Zurich on Jan 9.