Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match

The Sir Bobby Robson Trophy match was a charity football game held on Sunday, 26 July 2009, at St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Organised under licence by Toast Entertainment Group, it honoured former England and Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson and raised funds for his cancer charity, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation. The event was called the 'tear-jerker of the decade' and marked Robson's final public appearance; he died five days later, on the morning of 31 July 2009, at age 76, after his fifth cancer diagnosis. Early estimates suggested the match raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Foundation, which Robson established in his later years to support cancer research in North East England. The game was set up as a replay of a 1990 FIFA World Cup match played under Robson's management, featuring English and German players from those original squads. England won 3–2 in normal time, watched by 33,000 spectators in the stadium and broadcast live on ITV4. The England side included six of the original 1990 starting eleven, plus other squad members from both nations, retired England and Newcastle United footballers, and selected celebrity guests. England came back from 2–0 down after goals from Thomas Helmer and Fredi Bobic, with Les Ferdinand and Alan Thompson scoring to make it 2–2 by half-time. Alan Shearer won the game with a penalty 11 minutes from time. The 1990 World Cup in Italy was the peak of Robson's eight-year tenure as England manager, though the FA had announced before the tournament that it would be his last. England reached the semi-finals, facing West Germany at the Stadio delle Alpi in Turin. The match ended 1–1 after normal time, with no goals in extra time, and West Germany won 4–3 on penalties. Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed England's final spot-kicks. During extra time, Paul Gascoigne wept openly after receiving a yellow card that would have ruled him out of the final had England advanced. At the time, this was England's best World Cup performance on foreign soil, a feat equalled at the 2018 tournament. West Germany went on to win the final against Argentina. The penalty shootout defeat was Robson's second unlucky World Cup exit, following the 1986 quarter-final in Mexico, where Diego Maradona's 'Hand of God' goal knocked England out.