Star Sixes 2017: All the results & legends as France defeat Denmark in the final

The inaugural Star Sixes tournament has come to a close as France's legion of legends, including Robert Pires and Youri Djokaeff, lifted the trophy at London’s O2 after defeating surprise finalists Denmark.   

England, skippered by Steven Gerrard, fell at the quarter-final stage to Denmark having come through a group with Spain, Scotland and Mexico while the likes of Brazil, Germany and Italy were also among the 12 nations involved.    

Here, we have the full tournament results and group standings, daily round-ups from all four days (July 13-16) and the full list of legends who were taking part.  

Star Sixes: Day four round-up   

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. 

France, 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 Sorenson was voted star of the while Spain's Michel Salgado was presented with the top scorer award.     

Star Sixes: Results & Group standings

Scroll down for the daily reviews

Group A
Spain P 3 W 3 D 0 L 0 GD +10 Pts 9
England P 3 W 2 D 0 L 1 GD 0 Pts 6
Scotland P 3 W 1 D 0 L 2 GD -6 Pts 3
Mexico P 3 W 0 D 0 L 3 GD -4 Pts 0

Fixtures & Results
England 1-4 Spain
Mexico 1-3 Scotland
Spain 2-1 Mexico
England 3-1 Scotland
Spain 6-0 Scotland
England 2-1 Mexico 

Group B
Brazil P 3 W 3 D 0 L 0 GD +11 Pts 9
Italy P 3 W 2 D 0 L 1 GD +2 Pts 6
Nigeria P 3 W 1 D 0 L 2 GD -3 Pts 3
China P 3 W 0 D 0 L 3 GD -10 Pts 0

Fixtures & Results
Nigeria 3-2 China
Brazil 2-1 Italy
China 0-7 Brazil
Italy 2-0 Nigeria
Brazil 3-0 Nigeria
Italy 4-2 China 

Group C
Denmark P 3 W 1 D 2 L 0 GD +2 Pts 5
France P 3 W 1 D 1 L 1 GD 0 Pts 4
Germany P 3 W 1 D 1 L 1 GD -1 Pts 4
Portugal P 3 W 1 D 0 L 2 GD -1 Pts 3

Fixtures & Results
Portugal 4-6 Denmark
Germany 4-3 France
France 3-2 Portugal
Denmark 2-2 Germany
France 1-1 Denmark
Germany 0-2 Portugal

Format

The top-two from each group plus the best two third-placed teams qualified for the quarter-finals. Group matches were 20 minutes long and knockout fixtures lasted for 15 minutes. 

Teams finishing level on points were split by goal-difference, goals scored and goals conceded, while drawn knockout matches headed straight to a penalty shootout.

Knockout stage

Quarter-final 1: Spain 8-1 Nigeria
Quarter-final 2: Brazil 3-1 Germany
Quarter-final 3: Denmark 3-1 England
Quarter-final 4: Italy 2-4 France

Semi-final 1: Spain 2-5 France
Semi-final 2: Brazil 2-4 Denmark

3rd/4th play-off - Spain 11-3 Brazil

Final - France 2-1 Denmark

Top Scorers

9 - Michel Salgado

6 - Ludovic Giuly

5 - Julio Baptista

Star Sixes: Day three round-up

England were knocked out of the Betsafe Star Sixes at the quarter-final stage as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to dark horses Denmark at the O2 Arena on Saturday night.

England, who beat Mexico 2-1 in their final group game earlier in the day, fell behind to goals from Chris Sorenson and Daniel Jansen before skipper Steven Gerrard pulled one back with a sharp turn and finish from an acute angle.

Gerrard and his team-mates went in search of an equaliser as the crowd roared them on, but Denmark re-established their two-goal advantage when Jansen swept home his second from close-range.

England kept coming forward in the closing stages, with even goalkeeper David James sending a long-range shot over the bar, but they were unable to break down their well-organised opponents.

Denmark will play crowd favourites Brazil in the semi-finals after they beat Germany by the same scoreline.

Former Arsenal duo Julio Baptista and Gilberto Silva were on target for the Samba Boys, with Amaral adding a stunning third from long range after Marco Reich had pulled a goal back.

Spain will face France in the other semi-final after La Roja continued the impressive form that has made them tournament favourites.

They thrashed Scotland 6-0 to make it three wins out of three in the group stage, then claimed a 7-1 win over Nigeria in the quarters, with Michel Salgado smashing a hat-trick.

West Ham legend Paolo Di Canio netted the 100th goal of Betsafe Star Sixes when he opened the scoring for Italy in the last quarter-final of the night, but France battled back to win 4-2, with skipper Robert Pires scoring twice.

The winner of Betsafe Star Sixes will be decided on Sunday, with the semi-final action starting at 7.30pm, live on Sky Sports.

Star Sixes: Day two round-up

England picked up their first win of the Betsafe Star Sixes as they beat rivals Scotland 3-1 on the second night of matches at the O2 Arena on Friday. 

Michael Owen scored twice before Steven Gerrard capped the performance with the final goal of the night to bring an end to another star-studded evening of six-a-side football.  

France beat Portugal 3-2 with Arsenal legend Robert Pires opening the scoring before ex-Barcelona defender Eric Abidal showed great skill to round goalkeeper Vitor Baia.  

Germany then came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with Denmark, before Brazil delivered a masterclass in seeing off China 7-0 with Julio Baptista's brilliant hat-trick wowing the crowd. 

Italy had just enough to beat Nigeria 2-1 with Alessandro Del Piero among the scorers and Spain then turned it around late to win 2-1 against Mexico thanks to Michel Salgado's superb strike.  

Eight of the 12 teams will progress to the quarter-finals following Saturday afternoon's final group games and England's Paul Merson is hoping his side will be among them. 

The Sky Sports pundit was involved in both of England's first two goals and was pleased with the improvement following a 4-1 defeat to Spain on Thursday. 

"That's what I'm in the team for to make chances for people," Merson told Sky Sports. 

"I enjoyed it. We kept the ball and it doesn't matter how old you are, the ball does most of the running.  

"Our substitutions were better, they were more frequent, and everyone was fresh when they came on. That's what we needed to do and hopefully we will get better. 

"I think in yesterday's game we were hitting Emile Heskey too early. David James was getting it and throwing it straight away. Jamo calmed it down today and we started from the back. 

"As soon as we started doing that we did better. It's a big day and hopefully a long day for us if we can get through."  

Star Sixes: Day one round-up

England were beaten 4-1 by a strong Spain side on the opening night of the Betsafe Star Sixes at the O2 Arena on Thursday.

England, boasting former internationals Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Emile Heskey and Phil Neville, went ahead early on through Owen, but were pegged back by former Liverpool midfielder Luis Garcia's double.

Spain continued to dominate, thanks in part to a colossal performance from former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, and goals from Alfonso Perez and Joan Capdevila gave them the opening victory.

England now face Scotland on Friday night, before going up against Mexico on Saturday afternoon in their final group game.

Scotland enjoyed a fine opening victory, beating Mexico 3-1 to take early advantage in Group A.

Goals from Simon Donelly, Barry Ferguson and Mark Burchill but the Scots in control, while Luis Hernandez grabbed Mexico's consolation.

In Group B, a star-studded Brazil side beat Italy 2-1, with Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos and Gilberto Silva turning out for the five-time world champions. In the other Group B game, Nigeria beat China 3-2.

In Group C, Denmark came out on top in a 10-goal thriller, beating Portugal 6-4, and Germany came out on top against a strong France side, winning 4-3.

Which legends are playing in the Star Sixes?

BRAZIL: Roberto Carlos, Juliano Belletti, Gilberto Silva, Rivaldo, Elano, Dida, Juninho, Djalminha, Amaral, Julio Baptist

CHINA: Peng Weiguo, Peng Weijun, Xia Yao, Liang Jianfeng, Jiang Feng, Wei Qun, Liu Cheng, Chen Yongqiang, Hu Zhijun, Li Wei

DENMARK: Martin Jorgensen, Stig Tofting, John Sivebaek, Daniel Jensen, Mikkel Beckmann, Mads Junker, Chris Sorensen, Per Kroldrup, Hjalte Bo Norregaard, Jan Hoffman

ENGLAND: Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen, David James, Emile Heskey, Phil Neville, Danny Murphy, Paul Merson, Lee Hendrie, Wes Brown

FRANCE: Robert Pires, Olivier Dacourt, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Ludovic Giuly, Marcel Desailly, Sebastien Frey, Youri Djorkaeff, Bruno Cheyrou, Vincent Candela

GERMANY: Michael Ballack, Timo Hildebrand, Dietmar Hamann, Simon Rolfes, Marco Reich, Kevin Kuranyi, Jens Nowotny, Jorg Albertz, Maurizio Gaudino, Dariusz Wosz

ITALY: Alessandro Del Piero, Simone Barone, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Paolo Di Canio, Angelo Di Livio, Massimo Oddo, Marco Amelia, Stefano Fiore, Marco Delvecchio, Luciano Zauri

MEXICO: Jared Borgetti, Luis Hernandez, Garcia Aspe, Joaquin Reyes, Braulio Luna, Mario Mendez, Miguel Zepeda, Alberto Rodriguez, Hector Altamirano, Erubey Cabuto

NIGERIA: Jay-Jay Okocha, Celestine Babayaro, Daniel Amokachi, Julius Aghahowa, Garba Lawal, Joseph Yobo, Taribo West, Victor Ikpeba, Peter Rufai, Uche Okechukwu

PORTUGAL: Deco, Vitor Baia, Fernando Couto, Maniche, Jose Bosingwa, Raul Meireles, Nuno Gomes, Paulo Ferreira, Helder Postiga, Luis Boa Morte

SCOTLAND: Dominic Matteo, Don Hutchison, Christian Dailly, Simon Donnelly, Rab Douglas, Paul Dickov, Barry Ferguson, Jackie McNamara, Mark Burchill, Richard Hughes

SPAIN: Carles Puyol, Gaizka Mendieta, Fernando Morientes, Michel Salgado, Luis Garcia, David Albelda, Pedro Contreras, Alfonso Perez, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila

Star Sixes: The Sky Bet traders' view

We asked we ask Sky Bet traders Jack Abbot, Stuart Dallimore and Ryan Wolstenholme the key betting questions.

What can we expect from the Star Sixes?

JA: Lots of goals! The matches are 20 minutes long in the group stages and you could expect to see around 5-6 goals per match. There are roll-on/roll-off substitutes so expect to see high-intensity, action packed football.

SD: We’re hoping to see a pretty open competition and we’ve been pricing it with the expectation that there will be plenty goals scored. Hopefully we haven’t got that wrong!

RW: I think we will see goals, lots of them. With the format similar to that of Masters football, where 5+ goals per game is quite common, we are expecting a high goal line. The goals in StarSixes are also slightly larger than that of Masters so we'll hopefully also see some impressive goals from the likes of Gerrard, Del Piero and Rivaldo.

Where has the money been going?

JA: Unsurprisingly England have been the most popular at 5/1. I am sure many people are looking forward to see some of England's 'Golden Generation' in action following the mediocrity of England's performances over the past couple of years.  

SD: Brazil has seen the highest number of bets but England would be the worst result in the outright market. We've also seen a few bets on England/Michael Owen in the Winner/Top Goalscorer market, so hopefully Owen has lost his scoring touch in his retirement years.

RW: England have been the most popular, with Brazil a close second. I think people are staying patriotic and hoping that elusive England win is on its way.

How do you gauge the form of the players?

JA: We have been looking at a number of factors including age and length of time since the player has retired. Another angle is looking at the form players have shown in recent matches such as Barcelona Legends v Manchester Utd Legends and Soccer Aid. Rivaldo was one who looked in good shape in the Legends fixture hence is favourite at 6/1 in the Top Goalscorer market.

SD: It’s difficult but we’ve tried to price with players who have recently finished playing in mind. For example, Portugal have the youngest team in the comp with players such as Raul Mereiles who has only finished playing recently, you’d expect he’s got more in the tank than Paul Merson does!

RW: The ages of the players vary from 34–59 so it’s hard to gauge form and current ability. There are plenty of players who have only recently finished playing professional football so any opinions or form have been strongly weighted towards them players.

How far will England go?

JA: I think reaching the semi-finals would be a realistic target for England. They have a solid side but I would rate Portugal, Brazil and France more favourably. However, it will be entertaining to see how Heskey and Merson play!

SD: I think they've got a decent chance.  Worth bearing in mind that Gerrard, Murphy, Owen, Heskey, James would have plenty experience of playing together at club level.  They also have one of the younger teams in the tournament.

RW: In the group stage, England find themselves up against the oldest squad of the tournament (Mexcio) and Scotland, whose team is far more inexperienced in terms of international football. I expect England to get out of the groups but go no further. I think the tournament will suit a tika-taka style of play which plays into the hands of Brazil and Spain but not so much Heskey & Co.

Looking at the squads who takes your eye?

RA: I like the look of Portugal as not only do they have a strong squad footballing wise, more importantly they have the lowest average age in the tournament and physicality could prove to be the decisive factor in this tournament.

SD: I think Portugal’s team looks very good. I also think Nigeria are quite interesting as they’re in the weakest group in my opinion

RW: The Nigeria team is full of recognisable names and they could be the outside contenders. We are all familiar with the skill and trickery of captain Jay Jay Okacha from his days in the Premier League, so it will be interesting to see if he still has what it takes to lead his team to victory.

Go on then – give us your best bets?

RA: I fancy Portugal to win and Deco to be top goalscorer at 20/1. Portugal as they have strong squad and Deco, who is captain, is likely to be Portugal's main player

SD: I think you’ll get a great run for your money if you back either England or Portugal although if I have to pick just one my money would be on Portugal.

RW: My money is on Brazil! The format of this tournament favours attacking football. Although they are no spring chickens, the likes of Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Juninho and Elano certainly have enough skill to cause serious problems and with Dida, Gilberto Silva and Belatti at the back, I can’t see them leaking too many goals.

Can you still get tickets for the Star Sixes?

Tickets for the inaugural Star Sixes, which start at £30 Adults and £10 Juniors, are on sale at www.starsixes.com