Paris [France], September 8 (ANI): Spain's FIFA World Cup-winning sensation Lamine Yamal, Real Madrid and Ivory Coast star Yan Diamonde and Switzerland's World Cup star Johan Manzambi are among the nominees for the 'Kopa Trophy' to be given during the annual Ballon d'Or ceremony in October.
The official X handle of Ballon d'Or started rolling out the nominees for the 'Kopa Trophy', given to the best under-21 talent of the season. The ceremony for the Ballon d'Or, the highest individual honour in football, will be held in the UK on October 26 this year.
Yamal was a part of Spain's FIFA World Cup-winning campaign and won some trophies with FC Barcelona as well, delivering 25 goals, 20 assists in 57 matches as he won the FIFA World Cup, La Liga and the Spanish Super Cup titles, as per Ballon d'Or's official website.
Diamonde, Real Madrid's summer signing, was a star for Ivory Coast in their FIFA World Cup round of 32 finish, a historic landmark, finishing with one assist and 11 chances created. Throughout the last season, he turned up for RB Leipzig, scoring 16 goals and 10 assists in 50 matches.
Manzambi was instrumental in Switzerland's run to the FIFA WC quarters, scoring three goals and delivering two assists. The 20-year-old midfielder, earlier representing Freiburg, signed with Aston Villa in July this year. During the previous season in 61 matches, he scored 12 goals, eight assists and received six yellow cards and two red cards.
Kerim Alajbegovic starred in Bosnia and Herzegovina's round of 32 finish in the World Cup, with a goal against Qatar. The former RB Salzburg forward has been with Juventus in Serie A since August this year, having scored 14 goals, six assists and faced six yellow cards previous season.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, recently signed by Premier League giants Manchester City in August, earlier associated with Lille, delivered a goal and two assists in the 2025-26 season. The defensive midfielder also earned 10 yellow cards and two red cards. He also featured in Morocco's run to the quarterfinals in the FIFA World Cup.
The 19-year-old FIFA World Cup-winning Spanish star Pau Cubarsi also earned a nomination, scoring a goal, delivering two asists, facing five yellow and a red card in 2025-26 season. He was a part of Spain's WC-winning side and FC Barcelona's La Liga and Spanish Super Cup-winning side.
Germany and Bayern Munich's 18-year-old forward (12 goals, eight assists and a yellow cards in 44 matches) and France's 20-year-old midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery (three goals, six assists, five yellow cards in 62 matches) have also received nominations after trophy-rich 2025-26 seasons with Bayern and Paris-Saint Germain respectively.
While Lennart won the Bundesliga, German Cup and German Super Cup, Warren featured in PSG squads that lifted the back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles, FIFA Intercontinental Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Ligue 1 and the Trophee des Champions trophies.
France's Eli Junior Kroupi, who scored 16 goals and received six yellow cards in 40 matches last season, also receives a nomination. He is also a part of Premier League club Bournemouth, who secured a sixth-place finish in the league last season and earned a UEFA Europa League slot, getting to play European football for the first time in history.
Lastly, Ibrahim Maza, the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder, earned a nomination as well, with seven goals, seven assists and three yellow cards in 61 matches. (ANI)
Yamal, Diamonde, Manzambi headline nominees for 'Kopa Trophy' for best U21 talent of season
