Mauricio Pochettino's side beats Arsene Wenger's team 6-5 in 'Match of Hope'

The Match for Hope event in Qatar united former stars, celebrities, and social media sensations for an exhilarating 11v11 charity match. U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino led team Chunkz x KSO in a fiercely contested game against team KSI x AboFlah at the Match For Hope 2025 in Doha on Friday. 

This charity match had a mix of streaming sensations, YouTube stars, and former professional footballers flexing their footballing skills.

A Delightful match at Qatar

In a thrilling match that saw a total of 11 goals, Team KSI x AboFlah secured a dramatic victory with a late winner from streamer Adam Waheed, who struck the ball into the net with his left foot just seconds before the final whistle. The team, coached by the legendary former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, triumphed with a score of 6-5.

The match commentators informed that over $10.7 million had been raised for charity.

Pochettino's roster boasted a lineup featuring former Manchester City star David Silva, former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta, and prominent social media icons such as Mubarak Mustafa, AJ Shabeel, Thogden, Harry Pinero, Taiyo Kimura, Eman SV2, Samy Chaffai, Manny Brown, FutCrunch, Tobi Brown, Ben Azelart, Bashar Arabi, Luca de Pedreiro and King Kenny.

The team was captained by Chunkz, with IShowSpeed serving as co-captain; both are well-known figures in the streaming and YouTube communities. Speed tried to persuade Pochettino to develop a game plan focused on him, discussing tactics and strategy.

On the opposing team, coached by Wenger, were notable players including Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo, and Alessandro Del Piero, along with various other social media personalities. The second annual match supports Education Above All, an organisation dedicated to assisting out-of-school children.

The inaugural match held last year was a tremendous success, raising over $9 million to support around 70,000 individuals in need. With a turnout of 35,000 spectators at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Team Chunkz emerged victorious against Team AboFlah with a score of 7-5.