Stars from the world of football and celebrity are coming together in aid of charity UNICEF once again tonight as Soccer Aid 2022 takes place on Sunday.
The annual charity football match has been providing memorable moments for just over 15 years now as an England side and a World XI team go head to head on the pitch. This year Liam Payne will captain the Three Lions for the first time against Usain Bolt’s World XI and the One Direction star has been keeping team spirits high by throwing a team bonding party in their hotel on Saturday evening alongside Liverpool legend and teammate Jamie Carragher.
The England team, which is made up of celebrities and football legends, sang karaoke and enjoyed laughs ahead of the game, with Carragher live streaming the party to his 1.6 million Instagram followers. "This is a great bonding exercise, isn't it?" Carragher asked Payne during his live stream, to which the singer cheekily replied: "This is part of it - keeping everyone together, keep everyone's heads up - and we'll deal with the hangover in the morning."
READ MORE: Who is playing for England and the World XI at Soccer Aid 2022? Confirmed team news
England are hoping to stop World XI from winning their fourth Soccer Aid match in a row and from pulling away in the all-time standings, with both sides having won five times each heading into Sunday’s match. Last year’s match, held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, finished 3-0 to World XI with former Love Island winner Kem Cetinay scoring twice and comedian Lee Mack scoring a third late on.
Both Cetinay and Mack have returned to the World XI squad this year along with other celebrities including comics Mo Gilligan and Munya Chawawa, reality TV star Steven Bartlett, actors Mark Strong and Martin Compston and musician Chelcee Grimes. The team are being managed by Arsene Wenger and Robbie Keane, with Usain Bolt making his return as captain.
The World XI also features World Cup winners in Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Carli Lloyd and Heather O'Reilly as well as Premier League legends in Dimitar Berbatov, Petr Cech and Patrice Evra, as well as icon Andriy Shevchenko.
England - managed by Harry Redknapp, David Seaman, and Emma Hayes - can call upon celebrities including actors Damian Lewis and David Harewood, Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah, YouTube star Chunkz and musicians Tom Grennan and Aitch. Their former professionals include Carragher, Joe Cole, Gary Neville, Teddy Sheringham, Mark Noble and Stewart Downing as well as Lionesses Fara Williams, Eni Aluko and Anita Asante.
You can donate to this year's Soccer Aid for UNICEF by clicking here.
