Polish amputee football player Marcin Oleksy has found himself among the “three” nominees for the FIFA Puskás Award. In addition to the Pole, Richarlison de Andrade from Brazil and Dimitri Payet from France also have a chance at winning. Oleksy will be heading to the FIFA gala in Zurich at the end of February.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t even know what I thought. For a moment there was disbelief, then a burst of joy. It’s not easy to find yourself in such a group. It was certainly a strange feeling,” the Polish amputee football star said in a recent interview with sports news website sport.tvp.pl.

Aside from Oleksy, Richarlison, and Payet, the other candidates were Mario Balotelli, Theo Hernandez, and Kylian Mbappe. However, only three athletes were ultimately chosen to compete for the prestigious award.

We have our finalists for #TheBest FIFA Puskás Award! 💫

🇧🇷 @richarlison97
🇵🇱 Marcin Oleksy
🇫🇷 @dimpayet17

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) February 10, 2023

The choice was made by the fans in a special online vote. Now, the most beautiful goal will be chosen by the FIFA commission. The winner of the Puskás Award will be announced on February 27 at FIFA’s The Best Gala in Zurich.