Ada Hegerberg Headlines Nominees for 2018 Best FIFA Women's Player Award

Lyon duo Ada Hegerberg and Dzsenifer Marozsan plus Orlando Pride's Marta have been shortlisted to win The Best FIFA Women's Player Award for 2018. 

World football's governing body announced the finalists on Monday on social media:

The winner will be decided on September 24 at London's Royal Festival Hall.

Hegerberg and Marozsan were central to an outstanding season for Lyon, in which they went through the campaign without defeat. Marta, meanwhile, continued to add to her legacy on the international stage with Brazil, leading the nation to Copa America Femenina glory.

The fact that Lyon have two representatives in the final three is no surprise, as they continue to dominate European football.

Not only did they win Division 1 Feminine—winning 21 and drawing one of their 22 matches—they also won the UEFA Champions League for the third time in a row, beating Wolfsburg 4-1 after extra time in the final.

Hegerberg and Maroszan were both crucial to the French side's success. As relayed by BBC Sport, the former set new goalscoring standards in the competition, scoring 15 in total:

In addition to that haul, the Norwegian striker was also on target an impressive 28 times in 17 league matches.

Although Maroszan wasn't as prolific, the midfielder was crucial to Lyon dominating the centre of the pitch. The Germany skipper is intelligent on the ball, creative in her distribution and provides an ideal supply line to the Lyon attackers.

Marta is also a worthy nominee, as she continues to add to her reputation as one of the finest footballers to ever grace the game. The 32-year-old, whose 15 goals is the most in FIFA Women's World Cup history, captained Brazil to their seventh Copa America Femenina crown earlier this year.

She also enjoyed a prosperous season in the National Women's Soccer League with Orlando in 2017, scoring 13 times in 24 appearances. This season the forward has four goals from 17 outings, and journalist Meg Linehan believes she deserves her spot in the final three:

Elsewhere, in the race to be crowned FIFA's Best Women's Coach, Lyon's Reynald Pedros, Japan's Asako Takakura and the Netherlands' Sarina Wiegman are in contention.

The nominations will be a huge boost to the players and managers involved, as the buildup continues to the FIFA World Cup in France next year.