FIFA awards: Lloyd, Marta nominated for women's honour; Neid up for best coach

American superstar Carli Lloyd, Brazilian icon Marta, and Germany's Olympic hero Melanie Behringer have been named finalists for Best FIFA Women's Player of 2016.

Lloyd, 34, will be looking to capture the honour for the second consecutive year.

In her way stands perennial nominee Marta, the Brazilian attacker whose dribbling wizardry is surpassed only by her ability to remain one of the world's top players for over a decade - she's been nominated for this particular award in 12 of the last 13 years, previously winning it five times in a row.

While the two national team captains will garner most of the attention, Behringer enjoyed the most fruitful year of the trio: The midfielder capped an impressive career by leading Germany to gold at the Rio Olympics, finishing as top scorer in the tournament before announcing her retirement.

At club level, she once again played an integral role in leading Bayern Munich to a second straight German title.

Behind the benches, meanwhile, Jill Ellis of the United States, Silvia Neid of Germany, and Swedish manager Pia Sundhage make up the nominees for top coach of the year in the women's game.

While Sundhage's side enjoyed a fairy-tale Olympic run - knocking off her former team, the U.S., along the way - Neid will likely be the overwhelming favourite by virtue of the aforementioned gold-medal triumph.

The victors in each category will be revealed during FIFA's award ceremony on Jan. 9 in Zurich, Switzerland.