Argentina staged a strong fightback to hold Spain 1-1 in a Pool A match of the 11th FIH men's hockey World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany, on Friday night.

Spain, who shocked Olympic champions Australia 3-1 in their opening match, played below par and were trifle fortunate to come away with a point in the end.

After a blank first-half, Spain went ahead in the 40^th minute when Eduard Tubau scored from a penalty-corner, but Argentina, who had lost to New Zealand in their first game, equalised in the 50th through Lucas Cammareri.

Both teams wasted quite a few scoring chances in the first-half with Argentine goalkeeper Juan Manuel Vivaldi giving an eye-catching performance.

Korea post second win

In another match, in Pool B, Korea stumbled to a 1-0 victory over to register their second victory in the tournament.

The match-winner came in the 59th minute when Sung Hoon Yoon deflected skipper Yong Bae Kim's free-hit.

England, who had beaten India on Thursday night, thus suffered their first defeat in two matches.

In a limp match that saw action mostly confined to the midfield, with sporadic attacks from the teams, the Koreans, semi-finalists in the 2002 World Cup, played a waiting game before stepping up the pace in the second-half.

England had few scoring chances and were under pressure for much of the second session that was marked by a lot of body play. England forward Martin Jones found himself in the thick of it and came away with a bloody nose, as did his team.

The Koreans did not show the discipline that had helped them beat the Netherlands 3-2 in their previous game and earned three yellow card suspensions for misconduct.