Will they get a ticket to Bangkok for Geller Tractor?/ Maybe a historical golden ball for Biranund!

In a report, the Arabic website Winwin has analyzed the chances of three candidates for the best player of the year in Asia to receive this award.

According to Sports Se, the competition for the award of the best player of the year in Asia in 2026 has reached the final stage with the introduction of three final candidates. Al-Hilal captain Salem Al-Dosari, Al-Ahli Saudi striker Faras Al-Barikan and Tractor goalkeeper Alireza Biranvand are the three players competing for this title.

The winner of this award will be announced on November 19 in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. In this competition, Salem Al-Dosri is looking to win his third individual title, Firas Al-Barikan is looking to win this award by relying on his team's championship goal in the final of the Asian Elite League, and Biranvand also hopes to record his name in the history of this title.

However, it is noteworthy that some of the candidates' achievements during the year, including the Saudi national team's victory in the Persian Gulf Cup, are not included in the list of competitions that are considered according to the published scoring system for selecting the best player in Asia.

But how have the three finalists performed in 2026 and how can their achievements influence the competition for this award?

* Salem Al-Dosri, in Soda's third prize and a historical record with Al-Hilal

Salem Al-Dosri has entered this competition relying on his long experience in Asian competitions. Al-Hilal's captain has already won the Asian Player of the Year award twice, in 2022 and 2025, and is now looking to win his third individual title.

The year 2026 was also associated with Al-Dosari's presence in Al-Hilal. This team finished the 2025-2026 season of the Saudi League without suffering a single defeat and in the second place, and along with that, they also celebrated the championship of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Cup.

At the continental level, Al-Dusri continued to strengthen its position in the history of the Asian Elite League. Until April 2026, he increased the number of his games in these competitions to 110 matches; A record-breaking statistic that shows his continued presence at the highest level of Asian club football.

Al-Hilal captain also participated in the 2026 World Cup with the Saudi national team to add another experience of participating in the most important football tournament in the world to his national record.

Winning the third prize for the best player in Asia is a special goal for Al-Dosri. A player who seeks to further consolidate his position among the prominent figures in the history of football in this continent.

However, his previous experience and historical records will not automatically give him extra points. The competition to win this award depends on the performance and achievements of the players in the time frame set for the evaluation.

* Firas Al-Barikan, the goal that was decisive in the Asian final

Firas Albrikan has recorded one of the most important decisive moments among the three final candidates. The Saudi striker helped Al-Ahly win the Asian Elite League title for the second consecutive season.

In the final of this competition against Japan's Machida, Alberikan entered the field as a substitute player from the 62nd minute and then, using a pass from Frank Kessier, scored the only goal of the match in overtime.

The importance of this goal increased when Al-Ahly had to continue the match with 10 players after the dismissal of Zakaria Hosawi. In such a situation, Al-Barikan's goal marked Al-Ahly's historic 1-0 victory and played an important role in the continuation of this team's championship in the Asian club competitions.

The presence of this Saudi attacker was not limited to club competitions only. He played in all three matches of the Saudi national team in the 2026 World Cup from the beginning. Al-Barikan also played a role in the Saudi national team's championship in the 27th edition of the Persian Gulf Cup and won the title of Mr. Goal by scoring three goals.

These achievements make Al-Barikan's case one of the most notable among the candidates, especially since his goal in the final of the Asian Elite League was scored in one of the most important competitions of the continent's football season.

However, winning the Persian Gulf Cup does not appear in the list of tournaments that count for the Man of the Match award based on the published criteria.

* Biranvand, Iran's goalkeeper in search of an exceptional honor

Alireza Biranvand is the only goalkeeper in the final list of candidates for the best player of the year in Asia; A player who has spent a year full of participation in national and continental competitions with the Iranian national team and Tractor Club.

The Iranian goalkeeper participated in the 2026 World Cup and among the goalkeepers of the Iranian national team, he recorded the most participation in these competitions.

At the club level, in the 2025-2026 season of the Asian Elite League, Biranvand helped Tractor to reach the round of 16 of this competition. The presence of the national goalkeeper among the three final candidates has highlighted his position among prominent figures of Asian football.

This is the second time Biranvand is competing for this award. He was previously on the list of nominees in 2019 and now he has another chance to win one of the most important individual awards in Asian football.

Of course, the nature of Biranvand's case is different from his two Saudi competitors. In evaluating a goalkeeper's performance, indicators such as blocking balls, protecting the goal and influencing the team's results are important, while for strikers, the number of goals scored is not the main measure of his performance.

* Why does Saudi Arabia's championship in the Persian Gulf Cup not have direct points for Al-Barikan?

The criteria published by the Asian Football Confederation show that the selection of the list of final candidates is based on a system of points that is related to the selection of the best player of the match in certain competitions.

These competitions include the World Cup and some of its qualifying stages, the Asian Nations Cup and its final qualifying stages, the Olympic Games and Asian club competitions.

Persian Gulf Cup is not in this list. For this reason, according to the published table, Mr. Goli Al-Barikan will not directly earn points for him in this tournament or the Saudi national team's championship in it.

Of course, this does not mean that only the scored goals determine the winner of the prize. Evaluation criteria include achievements of players and their teams, fair play and technical evaluation.

Also, the published scoring table uses the names of some competitions of the past periods to update the continental competition system. Therefore, it is not possible to calculate the total official points of the three candidates in the 2026 version by relying only on this table.

* Which player has more chances?

The achievements of the three final candidates present three different cases to the voters. Salem Al-Dosari has a lot of experience in continental competitions, a brilliant personal record, club achievements with Al-Hilal last season and participation in the World Cup.

Firas Al-Barikan can also rely on his decisive role in Al-Ahly winning the Asian Elite League and being part of the Saudi national team in the World Cup.

On the other hand, Biranvand is trying to win this honor by participating in national and continental competitions and his position as one of the prominent goalkeepers in Asian football.

However, recorded achievements alone are not sufficient to determine which player is closer to winning the award, especially as each player's official points total and details of all Man of the Match selections that will be included in the final evaluation are not published.

Now Al-Dosri is gunning for his third individual title, Al-Barikan is hoping to cap off his special year with an individual award, and Biranvand is seeking a record-breaking honor for a goalkeeper. The final answer of this competition will be determined on November 28 at the award ceremony in Bangkok.