Jermain Defoe proved the hero in the 2016 Soccer Aid as his brace helped England claim a 3-2 comeback win over a Rest of the World side managed by Claudio Ranieri at Old Trafford on Sunday.
After a tight first 28 minutes, Olly Murs was presented with a glorious chance to open the scoring for an side England managed by Sam Allardyce, Robbie Williams and Jose Mourinho when he latched onto Marvin Humes' cross from the right flank but side-footed agonisingly wide from inside the penalty area.
England, and indeed Murs, did not sit back though and it was the singer who came closest to scoring minutes later when he ran free and lifted the ball over goalkeeper Dida but was thwarted as Jaap Stam cleared off the line.
England did manage to get the ball into the back of the net, however, but saw their goal ruled out after Jack Whitehall's goal-bound shot was tapped in from close range by Defoe, who had been standing in an offside position when he struck the ball.
Yet it mattered little when just five minutes later, Mark Wright's superb second-half free kick hurtled into the goal to hand England a 1-0 lead.
Ben Shephard's red card for a second bookable offence turned the game on its head for a short while as it paved the way for the Rest of the World side, coached by Premier League winning manager Ranieri, to restore parity after former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov fired past Jamie Theakston with 35 minutes to go.
When Ronaldinho then won a penalty, and Berbatov converted his spot-kick, things seemed to going the way of the visitors.
But with the crowd backing Allardyce's men, England hit back with two goals from Sunderland striker Defoe, who first calmly received a long-ball from midfield to score making it 2-2 before scoring the winner following some superb link-up play with Kieron Dyer.
There was time for Defoe to complete his hat-trick, but the striker drove high in front of goal although his two goals ensured that England gave the Old Trafford crowd something to smile about with a 3-2 win, in a game designed to help raise funds for Unicef.
