Kerr crowned with top gong after Ballon d'Or miss

Only 24 hours after narrowly missing out on the Ballon d'Or, Matildas captain Sam Kerr has been named Asia's women's player of the year.

It's the second time the Matildas and Chelsea forward Kerr was named Asia's best, having previously been crowned the confederation's leading female player in 2017.

Earlier in the year Kerr was awarded the golden boot for her seven-goal haul at the 2022 Asian Cup in India.

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She has also impressed at club level and helped Chelsea to the 2022/23 Women's Super League and FA Cup double.

On Monday, the 30-year-old West Australian had finished runner-up to Spain's World Cup-winner Aitana Bonmati in the voting for the prestigious Ballon d'Or, soccer's top individual honour.

"I just want to say what an amazing honour it is to win this award," said Kerr via video message after beating out China's Zhang Linyang and 2019 winner Saki Kumagai, from Japan.

"It has been an amazing year for me and my team and I just want to thank all my teammates, my coaches, my family and friends."

Meantime, Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari was named the men’s player of the year by the Asian Football Confederation.

Al-Dawsari scored the winning goal in Saudi Arabia's 2-1 victory over eventual champion Argentina in the 2022 World Cup. The winger also played a major role in Al-Hilal reaching the final of the 2023 Asian Champions League.

Al-Dawsari beat Almoez Ali of Qatar and Australia’s Mathew Leckie and became the sixth Saudi player to win the award.

It capped a successful day for Saudi Arabia, which appears all but certain to host the men’s 2034 World Cup after the Australian football federation decided not to enter the bidding contest.

Hajime Moriyasu was named as the men’s coach of the year after leading Japan to the second round of the World Cup, defeating Germany and Spain in the group stage. China’s Shui Qingxia won the female coaching award.