体坛英语新闻：England, Argentina win friendlies, Spain grab late lifeline

PARIS, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- 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.