Agustin Mazzilli and Gonzalo Peillat scored a brace each but Olympic champions Argentina were made to dig deep to eke out a 4-3 win over Spain , while New Zealand scrapped past France 2-1 in their opening matches of hockey World Cup here on Thursday.
In the day's second Pool A match, New Zealand scored two field goals through Kane Russell (16th) and Stephen Jenness (56th) to get the better of France.
France's lone goal came a minute away from the final hooter through a penalty corner conversion by Victor Charlet (59th).
Six places may separate the two teams in world rankings but world number eight Spain gave Argentina, ranked second, a run for their money in the high-scoring match that produced end-to-end hockey.
The Los Leones had to dish out every trick from their arsenal to get the better of a fighting Spanish side, which matched their rivals in every department throughout. Spain stunned the Argentines as early as in the third minute through young Enrique Gonzalez's fine field strike past Argetina goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi from a move which he only initiated.
But a minute later, Mazzilli drew level for Argentina, deflecting in a cross from the right wing past Spain's goalkeeper Quico Cortes.
Spain restored their lead in the 14th minute through a penalty corner conversion by Josep Romeu.
It was end-to-end battle as Mazzilli (15th minute) again came to Argentina's rescue, equalising 45 seconds from the first quarter after receiving a pass from Lucas Villa on the left side.
Just seconds away from the first break of the match, Argentina scored again when dragflick specialist Peillat (15t) converted a penalty corner with precision to hand his side the lead for the first time in the game.
Both the teams played with same intensity and pace in the second quarter but failed to find the net.
Five minutes after the change of ends, Spain equalised through Vicenc Ruiz's (35th) field strike.
The match went on similar lines in the fourth and final quarter with both Argentina and Spain pressing hard for more goals to secure full three points.
But it was the Argentines who succeeded in their effort when Peillatwas was again bang on target from another penalty corner in the 49th minute.
Thereafter, Spain dished out all the tricks, including withdrawing their goalkeeper for an extra player four minutes from the final hooter, but failed to breach the Argentina defence.
France fight hard
The match started on a steady note with both teams moving around with the ball. The first attack of the match was made by New Zealand's Stephen Jenness who tried to hit a reverse shot from the close range but French goalkeeper Arthur Thieffry blocked the attempt.
Playing contrary to what their ranking on the world list indicates, France did a good job in the first quarter to restrict New Zealand. They, however, could not hold them longer. In the 17th minute of the match, New Zealand defender Kane Russell scored the first goal for his team.
France made continuous attempts to score an equalizer but the lack of accuracy and pace did not let that happen. At the halftime, New Zealand were leading the match 1-0.
The trailing side did a good work in the third quarter to build pressure on New Zealand but the black caps also did fairly well in soaking that pressure. In the 38th minute of the match, France got their first penalty corner of the game but their skipper Victor Charlet could not be accurate with his drag flick. The third quarter ended without a goal being scored.
France entered the fourth quarter hoping to turn the game around. They were going well too as they earned two back to back penalty corners in the 54th minute of the match. French defender Victor Charlet flicked the ball towards the left bottom corner but the opposition goalkeeper spoiled the party by making an easy save.
Now it was time for New Zealand to make an attack. Unlike their opponents, New Zealand's Stephen Jenness made no mistake and unleashed a powerful backhand at the far post to give his side 2-0 lead in the match.
In the penultimate minute of the match, French skipper managed to score the sole goal for his side off a penalty corner. After full time, the scoreline read 2-1 in New Zealand's favour.