Sunday night saw the return of Soccer Aid, the annual charity event hosted by UNICEF UK where two teams (England and World XI) comprised of celebrities and former pro footballers take on each other.
The 11th edition held at the London Stadium, home to West Ham United, was meant to break the deadlock as both England and the World XI had won the competition 5-times each on previous occasions stretching as far back as 2006.
Much like the previous editions, fans were treated to star-studded line-ups of legends and celebrities with the England team enlisting names such as David James, Gary Neville, Chunkz and Mo Farah. But as has been the case in the past, the World 11 simply looked more imposing with famous names such as Usain Bolt, Mark Strong, Petr Cech and Patrice Evra.
Despite such household names of footballers and celebrities being present in this team, it was American social media personality Noah Beck that stole the show for many football fans. At just 21 years of age, the American has made an imprint on social media with more than 33 million followers on TikTok and 9 million followers on Instagram.
With the onset of the pandemic, Beck turned to online platforms such as Instagram and TikTok and began creating eye-catchy content featuring dances and acts in cue to music on TV shows and films that could easily be liked by a large number of people online.
Taking his content creation interests forward, the American was also a part of the Sway House in 2020 (a collaboration between young and popular TikTokers) where he combined with other famous TikTokers to create content together.
But Beck’s biggest step into celebrity life came when he began experimenting with his acting skills as he was the featured protagonist of a TV mini-series titled Noah Beck Tries Things that followed his life in Los Angeles with his social circle.
This shot Beck onto the cover of VMan magazine which also took note of and appreciated his fashionable wardrobe choices which ultimately also landed him the opportunity to be a VIP guest for the 2021 Louis Vuitton fashion show.
Apart from his huge personal fanbase that would have followed his exploits at Soccer Aid, Beck himself boasts of a strong connection with football as he was a midfielder for the Portland Pilots college team that represents the University of Portland which he attended in 2019 with a full scholarship.
This football experience perhaps boosted his confidence on his Soccer Aid debut on Sunday as he came up clutch to score the first goal of the night for the Rest of the World XI through a spot-kick against England legend David James.
The young American put his foot through the shot and put it away to the top left corner, leaving James no chance of making a save. Apart from the goal, Beck was perhaps the best player on the pitch with the ball and his performance has now fans calling out for a pro contract to be handed to the 21-year-old.
Perhaps the shift on Sunday has proved a case for Beck to play football professionally with football fans even joking that he should be getting ahead of several first-team players in England such as Manchester United’s Scott McTominay for instance.
As he already shares a close bond with fans of his work, if Beck was to kickstart his footballing career then surely, he would not face any trouble in securing fans of his game.
Check out more reactions to his performance below –