White scores as Soccer Aid raises £15m

Lionesses legend Ellen White became the first woman to ever score at Soccer Aid as more than £15m was raised for charity at the event on Sunday.

Former football stars including Joe Cole, Eden Hazard and Alessandro del Piero all got on the scoresheet at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium.

The annual charity match pits teams of former footballers and celebrities against each other for an England v the Rest of the World match. England won 6-3.

After the game it was announced Soccer Aid has raised more than £106m for charity since its inception in 2006.

Mauricio Pochettino was back in the dugout as manager of the Rest of the World side, just weeks after leaving Chelsea at the end of the Premier League season.

In charge of the England team was another former Blues boss Frank Lampard, who was working alongside his uncle Harry Redknapp.

Playing in a retro 1996 kit England took the lead through an early Cole goal before Hazard, who retired last summer after four years at Real Madrid, put a free-kick past former England goalkeeper David James.

Juventus legend Del Piero then put the Rest of the World 2-1 up after 100m world record holder Usain Bolt set him up.

Female players first joined Soccer Aid in 2019 and record Lionesses scorer White became the first to score in the fixture with a tap-in after former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere had taken the ball around ex-Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

It was not just about former footballers getting on the scoresheet.

Boxer Tommy Fury struggled to get to grips with the game and caught the eye when he took an underarm throw-in.

Actor Emmett Scanlan admitted he had never played football before but was picked in the starting line-up for the Rest of the World - before coming off with a pulled groin.

The second half at Soccer Aid is when the celebrity goalkeepers come on, and is usually when most goals are scored.

Early in the second period entrepreneur Steven Bartlett put England 3-2 up, his shot going through the legs of former cruiserweight world champion Tony Bellew. Bellew made amends with a good save from former Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe moments later.

Defoe then made it 4-2 with a powerful strike past Bellew and Bartlett got his second to make it five when he charged down a clearance from the keeper.

Freestyle footballer Billy Wingrove pulled one back from the spot with 15 minutes to go but ex-Arsenal forward Theo Walcott made it six for England shortly afterwards with a lob.