Ex-QPRs! England Legends Lose to Rest of the World

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In the PFA Centenary Match at Manchester City, played today, Terry Venables "England Legends" lost 3-2 to "Rest of the World."

Photos from the game

SKY England lose out in PFA game - Venables' team not world-beaters in fundraiser
By Lewis Rutledge

England came out second best against a Rest of the World XI in the PFA centenary game.

To mark 100 years since the first footballers' union was formed, Terry Venables' star-studded England team, including the likes of Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand, tackled an international XI led by Sven Goran Eriksson at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Eriksson, who has seen his Manchester City side win all eight of their Premier League games this season, kept up his 100 per cent record as the World XI ran out 3-2 victors.

Although the players set a tempo that sometimes resembled a game of lawn bowls rather than football, many showed they had lost none of the skill that made them legends.

Neville Southall defied gravity to pull off a fine save from Dennis Wise early on, but he could not prevent the current Leeds manager from curling in a sublime shot in the eighth minute.

The Rest of the World, with Gianfranco Zola pulling the strings, dominated possession thereafter and equalised in the 50th minute when England goalkeeper Chris Woods spilled a cross and Lorenzo Amoruso poked home.

Ian Rush then headed Eriksson's team in front and Ally McCoist added a fine third in the 72nd minute.

Jamie Redknapp pulled one back for England with a powerful drive after 79 minutes, and the constant flow of substitutes coming on and off, and then on again, helped keep the players fresh for a frantic finish.

England could not equalise but there were smiles all around at the final whistle of a match organised to raise £1million for a new unit at a local children's hospital. SKY

See also PFA

The Two Squads

ENGLAND LEGENDS UPDATED SQUAD:
Goalkeepers
Chris Woods, Kevin Hitchcock
Defenders:
Warren Barton Des Walker,Dave Watson,Gary Mabbutt,Gary Pallister, John Scales,Graham Le Saux
Midfielders:
Steve Stone Ray Parlour Dennis Wise Jamie Redknapp Robert Lee Steve Hodge Tony Daley
Strikers:
Alan Shearer Les Ferdinand Paul Walsh Peter Beardsley

THE REST OF THE WORLD SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Neville Southall (Wales), Erik Thorstvedt (Norway), Thomas Ravelli (Sweden)

Defenders: Roland Neilson (Sweden), Lorenzo Amaruso (Italy), Richard Gough (Scotland), Arthur Numan (Netherlands), Denis Irwin (Republic of Ireland)

Midfielders: Jay Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Roberto Di Matteo (Italy), Ali Benarbia (Algeria), Andrei Kanchelskis (Russia), Anders Limpar (Sweden), Gary McAllister (Scotland), Neil Lennon (Northern Ireland), Dino Baggio (Italy), Stefan Freund (Germany), Dmitri Alenichev (Russia)

Forwards: Gianfranco Zola (Italy), Mark Hughes (Wales), Ian Rush (Wales), Niall Quinn (Republic of Ireland), Ally McCoist (Scotland), Shaun Goater (Bermuda), Sergei Yuran (Russia)