has spoken out about , saying that he is concerned about following in his bandmates’ footsteps.
The star, 28, revealed that he’s worried he’s got a ‘lot to live up to’, after his bandmate , 28, faced off against his other co-star Louis Tomlinson, 30, at the 2016 tournament, before returning to play in the 2019 match.
The match between England and Soccer Aid World XI will feature a variety of famous faces including debuts from Alex Brooker, and .
Former One Direction singer Liam will captain England, while Usain Bolt captains the Soccer Aid World XI team.
Liam, 28, told the PA news agency: ‘I hope I’m a big enough personality to be able to pull it off because the football is not going to be able to help me.
‘It’s a fun, fun game and its actually my debut, a lot of my bandmates have already played so I feel like I’ve got quite a lot to live up to.
‘I wouldn’t say I was the worst footballer in the band, but I wasn’t far off.’
Liam said he is ‘scared and excited’ about the match on June 12 and hopes he is ‘worthy’ of the captain’s armband.
He added that he’s ‘watched a lot of football games over the years’ and that often when he’s watching the games, it went through his mind that he could do what the players were doing, adding: ‘for me it’s a little bit of a chance to cosplay in a way and be part of it’.
The star also revealed that he’s been ‘training too hard’ and that he’s ‘really excited’ to take part.
‘So I’ve really put my heart and soul into it. I’m hoping by the time we come around to it, I’ll be worthy of that armband,’ he said.
, , , , Fara Williams and Chunkz will also make their return to the pitch for 2022.
Elsewhere, Liam touched on how everyone he’s met so far is ‘really, really lovely’ and that it seems like a ‘really good team’, while he’s ‘super grateful’ for the opportunity.
‘I hope I don’t make a fool of myself and I just hope that we get everything we can for the cause and remember the real reason why we’re all on that pitch,’ he said.
Liam added that Soccer Aid co-creator , who will perform his 1997 hit ballad Angels for 60,000 fans at half-time, is his ‘hero.’
‘He was the reason that I started to sing,’ he said.
Since its creation in 2006, Soccer Aid has raised more than £60million for Unicef, which helps to provide aid to children worldwide.
Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2022 takes place on June 12 at The London Stadium, with tickets at socceraid.org.uk/tickets.
