Celebs join charity football match

1:36pm Monday 8th September 2008

Football legends and celebrities teamed up in a seven-goal match at Wembley Stadium to raise money for United Nations children's charity Unicef.

Watched by an estimated crowd of 45,000 cheering fans, 34 celebrities braved a chilly London evening to play in Socceraid's charity football match.

Two teams - England and Rest Of The World - made up of a mix of non-sporting celebrities and professional or ex-professional footballers, battled it out for 90 minutes on the famed football pitch.

England eventually got the better of Rest Of The World, pulling one goal ahead to clinch victory at 4-3.

The brainchild of singer Robbie Williams, the match hopes to raise over £1m to go towards health, education and medicine in 190 countries worldwide, Unicef said.

The event was hosted by Ant and Dec and Louise Redknapp also provided pitch-side commentary with England manager Harry Redknapp.

The referee was Pierluigi Collina, who also refereed at Socceraid in 2006.

In a game filled with some moments of brilliance and some slightly lacklustre play, some performances stood out above the rest, including a hat trick by Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.

Craig David was named Man of the Match for an energetic performance.

Speaking after the game Shearer said: "I thought it was a great game. It was done in the right way. People expect to be entertained and I think that's what they got."