體壇英語資訊：England, Argentina win friendlies, Spain grab late lifeline

England and Argentina both defeated their opponents in international soccer friendlies on Wednesday, while world champions Spain needed a last-minute goal to draw with Mexico.

England captain Steven Gerrard scored twice to help England come back to beat Hungary 2-1. It was their first game since the 4-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup second round.

Argentina, ousted by the Germans in the quarterfinals at the World Cup, shrugged off the controversy surrounding the sacking of Diego Maradona to beat Ireland 1-0.

Newly-crowned world champions Spain drew 1-1 with Mexico while Fracne lost to Norway 2-1.

World Cup runners-up the Netherlands put out a second-string side in Donetsk and drew 1-1 with Ukraine while Germany, semifinalists in South Africa, also used a back-up team and drew 2-2 in Denmark.

England suffered for Phil Jagielka's own goal after the interval. But Liverpool captain Gerrard filled the gap with a powerful long-range shot, then pushed England ahead by slotting home four minutes later.

Gerrard helped Fabio Capello avoid more embarrassment after Phil Jagielka had put through his own goal to give Hungary a shock lead.

"I am really happy with the new players. It was a game we had to play with pressure. People spoke about the fans booing and there was big pressure but the new players played with confidence," said Capello.

Argentina's Angel Di Maria scored the only goal for the match in the first half to help his team defeat Ireland 1-0 in the first international game in the renamed Aviva Stadium.

"It was good to get the massive blow of World Cup elimination out of our system," said Argentina coach Sergio Batista.

David Silva's injury-time goal gave Spain a 1-1 draw with Mexico on Wednesday in the team's first match since winning the World Cup a month ago.

Silva scored from 10 meters (yards) after breaking free into the area.

Javier Hernandez, who signed with Manchester United before the World Cup, scored in the 12th minute to give Mexico the lead.

Blanc insisted that he was pleased with his inexperienced France team, which included eight new caps.

Hatem Ben Arfa put France ahead shortly after half-time but two goals from Erik Huseklepp took Norway to victory.

"We always play to win so when we lose we aren't satisfied," said Blanc. "But we have to overlook the score this evening as I saw some interesting things. Some players produced some quality which will help us in the future."

Substitute Mads Junker inspired Denmark to come from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw against Germany in Copenhagen.

PSV Eindhoven midfielder Jeremain Lens put the Dutch side in front in the second half against Ukraine, while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Alexander Aliev pulled the scores level just a minute later.

On a busy night of friendlies, warm-ups for September's Euro 2024 qualifiers, Slovenia edged Australia 2-0, Sweden saw off Scotland 3-0, Russia beat Bulgaria 1-0 while tournament co-hosts Poland lost 3-0 at home to Cameroon.

England and Argentina both defeated their opponents in international soccer friendlies on Wednesday, while world champions Spain needed a last-minute goal to draw with Mexico.

England captain Steven Gerrard scored twice to help England come back to beat Hungary 2-1. It was their first game since the 4-1 defeat to Germany in the World Cup second round.

Argentina, ousted by the Germans in the quarterfinals at the World Cup, shrugged off the controversy surrounding the sacking of Diego Maradona to beat Ireland 1-0.

Newly-crowned world champions Spain drew 1-1 with Mexico while Fracne lost to Norway 2-1.

World Cup runners-up the Netherlands put out a second-string side in Donetsk and drew 1-1 with Ukraine while Germany, semifinalists in South Africa, also used a back-up team and drew 2-2 in Denmark.

England suffered for Phil Jagielka's own goal after the interval. But Liverpool captain Gerrard filled the gap with a powerful long-range shot, then pushed England ahead by slotting home four minutes later.

Gerrard helped Fabio Capello avoid more embarrassment after Phil Jagielka had put through his own goal to give Hungary a shock lead.

"I am really happy with the new players. It was a game we had to play with pressure. People spoke about the fans booing and there was big pressure but the new players played with confidence," said Capello.

Argentina's Angel Di Maria scored the only goal for the match in the first half to help his team defeat Ireland 1-0 in the first international game in the renamed Aviva Stadium.

"It was good to get the massive blow of World Cup elimination out of our system," said Argentina coach Sergio Batista.

David Silva's injury-time goal gave Spain a 1-1 draw with Mexico on Wednesday in the team's first match since winning the World Cup a month ago.

Silva scored from 10 meters (yards) after breaking free into the area.

Javier Hernandez, who signed with Manchester United before the World Cup, scored in the 12th minute to give Mexico the lead.

Blanc insisted that he was pleased with his inexperienced France team, which included eight new caps.

Hatem Ben Arfa put France ahead shortly after half-time but two goals from Erik Huseklepp took Norway to victory.

"We always play to win so when we lose we aren't satisfied," said Blanc. "But we have to overlook the score this evening as I saw some interesting things. Some players produced some quality which will help us in the future."

Substitute Mads Junker inspired Denmark to come from 2-0 down to force a 2-2 draw against Germany in Copenhagen.

PSV Eindhoven midfielder Jeremain Lens put the Dutch side in front in the second half against Ukraine, while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Alexander Aliev pulled the scores level just a minute later.

On a busy night of friendlies, warm-ups for September's Euro 2024 qualifiers, Slovenia edged Australia 2-0, Sweden saw off Scotland 3-0, Russia beat Bulgaria 1-0 while tournament co-hosts Poland lost 3-0 at home to Cameroon.