UPDATE: The games started off neck-and-neck with a draw before Pessoa proved he owned the virtual pitch beating Alexander-Arnold 4-1 and 2-0 in the last two games.
The stream ended with Alexander-Arnold challenging England rugby player Jack Nowell to be the next sports star to face Pessoa live next.
Original article: England and Liverpool football star Trent Alexander-Arnold will be competing in a game of FIFA 20 against Ryan Pessoa, pro player for Man City Esports.
The best-of-three match will take place live on Twitch this Friday, in the latest example of pro sportspeople taking to gaming in isolation.
Liverpool is currently top of the postponed Premier League, leading rivals and defending champions Manchester City by 22 points.
With the Premier League out of action, and many live esports tournaments moved to online, more people have been taking to the online world to take part in gaming tournaments, showmatches, charity initiatives and more.
You can see more esports and gaming news around the COVID-19 situation here.
In the lead up to the stream this Friday, fans can submit their questions for Trent Alexander-Arnold on Ryan Pessoa’s Twitter and Instagram, which he will put to the Liverpool star live as they play FIFA 20.
Both official Red Bull athletes, Pessoa and Alexander-Arnold have struck up a friendship whilst representing the brand which has led to the competition.
Signed by Man City Esports in 2019, British esports athlete Pessoa is one of the best FIFA players in the world. Viewers will get the chance to see firsthand if he will go easy on the star footballer or if Alexander-Arnold will put him through his paces.
It is currently unknown if or when the Premier League will get back underway or whether the season will be ended early.
The stream will take place on Friday April 3rd at 7pm GMT on twitch.tv/ryanpessoa
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
