A mundane first half came to life after the break as ten man England came from behind to eventually win 3-2 against a Rest of the World team
This weekend at Old Trafford, Soccer Aid brought together the stars of sport, music, television and film to raise money and support for Unicef's work for children in danger.
The brainwave of singer and former Take That star Robbie Williams the game was shown live on terrestrial TV
Initially, Jose Mourinho got the gig to manage an England XI against a Rest of the World XI but cried off a couple of days beforehand handing match day control to Sam Allardyce. United said their new manager was not put under any pressure to withdraw but clearly they would prefer Mourinho to walk out at Old Trafford for the first time leading a Manchester United team rather than a bunch of well meaning amateurs. The 'Special One' was in attendance but not in the dug out.
For the Rest of the World team Claudio Ranieri had no such qualms probably finding managing former World Cup winners, film stars and actors as a cushy number after leading Leicester to the Premier League title.
As publicity for Unicef, the timing was brilliant and who would begrudge them a sell out crowd with all monies going towards helping providing children with life-saving food, vaccines, and clean water, as well as protecting them from violence, exploitation and abuse.
100% of all public donations would be going towards supporting the vital work of Unicef with Soccer Aid monies being doubled by the UK government.
Yet despite the charitable nature of these games I always feel there is a slight undercurrent of tension between the players.
After all it is meant to be entertainment for a predominately family crowd yet the stars of stage and screen are keen to show off their skills and show they can play. Yet the former World Cup winner does not want to be nutmegged by a boy band member, neither does the young heart throb singer fancy being turned inside-out by a 55 year old former winger.
Certainly the likes of Jamie Carragher, roundly booed throughout for his Liverpool connection, and Edgar Davis looked up for the challenge with some cynical challenges whilst Olly Murs impressed in the first half but missed a number of chances.
The humid weather made the first half a slow paced affair and whilst England dominated they failed to capitalise as Jaap Stam still looked a class act in the Rest of the World defence. The former Manchester United favourite was given a standing ovation when he went off injured.
And the United connection continued after the break as Dimitar Berbatov scored twice in three minutes, once with a penalty after Ronaldinho was brought down to give the Rest of the World the lead after radio presenter Mark Wright had opened the scoring for England with superb 30 yard free kick.
England were down to ten men at this stage after Ben Shephard was dismissed for a second yellow card but then Jermaine Defoe showed his fitness as befits a player who only a few weeks ago was helping Sunderland avoid relegation, with strikes in the 64th and 76th minutes.
FT
ENGLAND 3 (Wright 50, Defoe 64, 76)
REST OF THE WORLD 2 (Berbatov 54 57 pen)