Hello and welcome to live coverage from The Mirror of Soccer Aid 2026 for Unicef.
The annual charity friendly between England XI and World XI is set to take place at the London Stadium this evening with plenty of big names in action.
The latter have several international footballers in their ranks including Jordi Alba and Leonardo Bonucci while England will be represented by Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere. Actors Owen Cooper and Tom Hiddleston will be among the celebrities pulling on the famous Three Lions shirt.
Kick-off is 6:30pm on ITV1, but there will be plenty of coverage in the lead up and after the game alongside match updates.
To stay up to date with all of that and much more, keep plugged into our live blog over the coming hours!
New UpdatesToday16:08 BST
While the main event is set to start shortly, Olly Murs has been raising money for UNICEF already having taken on a brutal five-day challenge, which saw him run, row and ride from Manchester’s Old Trafford to London Stadium.
Speaking about the challenge to the Daily Mirror, he said: “I’m feeling good, I think I’m still in a bit of a bubble. I didn’t quite fathom what I’ve done, still. I’m just really proud that I did it.”
Olly has raised over £800,000 for Unicef(Image: Tristan Fewings, Getty Images)
There are some big names that will be on show at London Stadium for Soccer Aid including some famous celebrities and plenty of former international footballers.
England squad in full: Robbie Williams (Manager), Wayne Rooney, Jermain Defoe, Jill Scott, Tom Hiddleston, Danny Dyer, Paddy McGuinness, Olly Murs, Joe Marler (GK), Theo Walcott, Toni Duggan, Steph Houghton, Jordan North, Angry Ginge, GK Barry, Jack Wilshere, Joe Hart, Sam Thompson, Chloe Burrows, Jack Whitehall and Owen Cooper.
World XI squad in full: Usain Bolt (Manager), Edwin van der Sar, Michael Essien, Jordi Alba, Leonardo Bonucci, Dimitar Berbatov, Nemanja Matic, Maisie Adam, Big Zuu, Nabhaan Rizwan, Nitro, Ali Krieger, Jen Beattie, Nicky Byrne, Dermot Kennedy, Chris O’Dowd, Richard Gadd, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tobi Brown and Behzinga.
Tom Hiddleston and Olly Murs will be playing for England XI at Soccer Aid For UNICEF 2026(Image: (Photo by Jo Hale/Getty Images))
As is always the case with Soccer Aid, ITV have the rights to show the match with coverage starting at 5pm and lasting four hours.
For those wanting to tune in earlier, there is a Soccer Aid special of The Chase that starts in just a few minutes!
There are other ways to follow with the event being streamed on the Soccer Aid YouTube channel. talkSPORT will also provide live commentary of the match.
Kieran Horn
Today15:48 BST
The 2026 edition of Soccer Aid will kick off at 6:30pm (BST) with coverage starting an hour earlier on ITV1.
The 20th anniversary of the match in aid of UNICEF usually kicks off at 7:30pm but has been brought forward by an hour.
Kieran HornToday15:41 BST
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Soccer Aid 2026 from the London Stadium!
We are just under three hours away from kick-off but there is plenty to cover before then including a reminder of both squads in full, how to watch the clash and much more…