Monday 17 July 2017 08:42, UK
France were crowned champions of the inaugural Betsafe Star Sixes with a 2-1 win over Denmark in Sunday night's final at the O2 Arena.
The French team, captained by Arsenal legend Robert Pires, beat Spain 5-2 in the semi-finals before rounding off the star-studded four-day tournament with their narrow victory over the Danes.
Ludovic Giuly bundled home the opener from close range, with Youri Djorkaeff striking what turned out to be the decisive goal after Daniel Jensen had equalised for Denmark.
"I'm very proud of my team," Pires told Sky Sports. "It's always very important to do well whenever you put the French shirt on. It was a very tough game.
"The legs were a bit heavy and Denmark played very well, so we're very happy to win the tournament."
Denmark captain Stig Tofting added: "Of course if you told us we would finish runners-up before the tournament we would have been happy, but it's always disappointing to lose. Congratulations to France."
The third-placed play-off was a one-sided affair, with Spain romping to an 11-3 victory over Gilberto Silva's Brazil, who had suffered an unexpected 4-2 defeat to Denmark in the other semi-final.
Denmark's Chris Sorenson was voted star of the tournament while Spain's Michel Salgado was presented with the top scorer award after netting nine times.
