BLACKBURN comedian Lee Mack delighted viewers after scoring the winning goal for his team at Soccer Aid for Unicef 2022, which took place on Sunday.

Lee, star of BBC sitcom Not Going Out and panel show Would I Lie To You?, sealed victory for World XI team by scoring the final penalty.

It is the fourth successive year that the World team has beat England in the charity match which raises funds for Unicef, and this year raised more than £15 million.

 

 

Speaking about the goal, commentators Sam Matterface and Iain Stirling, said: “Super Lee Mack wins Soccer Aid 2022 for World IX – they have done it again.

"They might as well take the trophy home, it belongs to them now.

“Lee couldn’t score when he was in the England team – he can’t stop scoring now.”

It’s not the first time Lee Mack has scored the winner, after slotting home the final goal of the game for World XI in 2021.

Mack’s goal came in the final seconds of the match after he missed two shots earlier, and in 2022 he coolly put away the winning penalty after the game went to a shoot-out.

“Last year he had the commentary of the goal as his ringtone for six months," said Sam. “How is he going to celebrate this time?”

Speaking to presenters Dermot O’Leary and Alex Scott about his victory goal, Lee said he won't be playing in the next Soccer Aid.

Lee, 53, said: “I don’t know if you noticed but I didn’t actually touch that ball once when I came on. I only touched it once for that penalty.

“That’s it, that's definitely it,” he said to Alex. “You are playing next year, I'm not."

Taking to Twitter after Lee scored his victory goal, many viewers were quick to praise the comic.

One person said: “Mark Wright losing a game that he took deadly seriously to a winning penalty by Lee Mack will never not be funny.”

“Lee Mack is the best English football player in the world,” said another.

A third said: “Lee Mack. Script writer. Ice man. Undisputed Soccer Aid legend.”

Another said: “Another enjoyable Soccer Aid a bit more competitive this year. Tom Grennan’s goal was great, Evra is still so great to watch.

“Lee Mack scoring the winning penalty, just shows you should never give up. And all for a great cause.”

The game, which raised an estimated £15 million for the charity, finished in a 2-2 draw in normal time before a side captained by eight-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt prevailed 4-1 on spot-kicks.

Former Portland Pirates midfielder turned TikTok star Noah Beck put the World XI in front from the spot before television personality and former Crawley player Mark Wright’s penalty levelled things up and then singer Tom Grennan gave England the lead.

Television presenter and former Love Island star Kem Cetinay scored a late equaliser to take the match to a shootout, with comedian Lee Mack scoring the winning penalty.

It wasn't all smiles in East Lancashire at the final whistle however, Emily in Paris actor Lucien Laviscount was on the losing side after representing England in the match.

Since its creation in 2006, Soccer Aid has raised more than £60 million for the humanitarian organisation, which helps to provide aid to children worldwide.