Only Lautaro Remains as Serie A's Sole Ballon d'Or Candidate, While Saudi Pro League Has Two Nominees

The 30-player shortlist for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been announced. Among them, Ligue 1 has 10 players selected, La Liga has 7, the Premier League has 5, the Bundesliga has 4, and Serie A has only Lautaro included.

Last season, Lautaro led Inter Milan to win the Serie A title and the Coppa Italia title, and he won the Serie A Golden Boot. At the World Cup, Lautaro contributed 3 goals and 1 assist. As a substitute, he provided match-winning assists and a match-winning goal in consecutive knockout-stage games, helping Argentina finish as runners-up.

Lautaro became Serie A's only Ballon d'Or candidate. Serie A even had fewer selected players than the Saudi Pro League, with Saudi Pro League top scorer Kinyaones (Al Khobar Al Qadisiyah/Mexico) and Africa Cup of Nations MVP Mane (Al Nassr/Senegal) both making the shortlist.

Regarding Serie A, last season's MVP Dimarco was not included among the candidates, which may also be related to Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup.