Fernando Torres believes that this Spain team will be talked about for years to come if they beat Germany tomorrow – the only doubt is whether the Liverpool striker will start the match.

Torres has been in the starting XI for all of Spain’s games bar the opener against Switzerland which the European champions lost 1-0. Since then the 26-year-old, who arrived in South Africa short of fitness following a knee operation in April, has been chosen to start by coach Vicente del Bosque but has yet to score or even look close to living up to his reputation.

The Torres question has dominated Spanish thoughts in the build-up to tomorrow’s semi-final in Durban, with many keen for Cesc Fabregas to start after La Roja played with much more conviction once the Arsenal midfielder replaced Torres in the quarter-final against Paraguay.

Fabregas picked up a leg injury in training yesterday but will be fit to play after the the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said in a statement today: “The tests have ruled out any type of bone injury so the player could be available to play against Germany. He has not been ruled out for the game tomorrow.”

That said, it may just persuade Del Bosque to keep faith with Torres, the man whose goal against the same opponents won the UEFA EURO 2008 final. Torres said: “No player is assured of a place in the starting XI. A player has to give 100 per cent in his fight for a place in the team. But if he isn’t given the nod by the boss, then he has to cheer on the side from the sidelines.

“If I score against Germany and it takes us to the final that would be unbelievable. I hope history can be repeated but above all, that the team wins. We have done well in our last games against them but this German team is much better than the previous sides we have faced. They have proved to be one of the favourites in this tournament without a doubt.”

Spain in fact have never reached even the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup™, though they did make a final group of four in 1950 which eventually determined the winner. Torres insisted that it was important the team did not believe their job is already done.

“I don’t just settle for being in the semi-finals, I want more,” he said. “Of course it’s a success for us as this is the first time our nation has achieved this but we are aware that we may never get this chance again. We have the right to dream and to play a wonderful game against Germany. We want to make sure that people will still be talking about this Spain team in two years’ time or even longer.”

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres says he wants to know what is really happening at the club before committing his future to the club.

Torres has been linked with a big-money move to the likes of Chelsea, Barcelona and Inter Milan in recent weeks following Liverpool’s failure to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League and reports that the Merseyside club have debts of around £350million. However, the player says he will seek talks with the board and new Reds coach Roy Hodgson after the FIFA World Cup™ in order to find out exactly what is going on at Anfield.

“I suppose that when the World Cup finishes I will speak to the people at Liverpool and they will explain to me the real situation of how things are at present, the future of the club. And I will talk to the new coach,” he said in an interview with El Mundo Deportivo.

For the moment, however, Torres says he is not thinking beyond the FIFA World Cup. “There’s time for that (Liverpool), but I want to finish the World Cup, go on holiday, as I haven’t had a holiday for three years, rest and then there will be time to talk about all of that – the situation isn’t going to change whether we talk soon or later,” he said.

The former Atletico Madrid striker refused to rule out a move away from Anfield, but says nothing will happen until after the FIFA World Cup. “Honestly, teams won’t be able to do anything until the World Cup has finished. The players here prefer to wait – there is time,” he said.

Fernando Torres has admitted Spain’s FIFA World Cup™ semi-final with high-scoring Germany will be like a final as he looks to repeat his country’s UEFA EURO 2008 success. The Liverpool striker scored the only goal of the decider against Joachim Low’s team two years ago to help La Roja lift their first major trophy for 44 years.

Now the two sides will meet again in the last four of football’s biggest tournament, with the winners to face either the Netherlands or Uruguay in the Final next Sunday in Johannesburg. Torres has not been surprised by Germany’s success in South Africa, but also feels the best is still to come from Spain.

“I am very proud,” he said. ”It is the first semi-final for Spain in World Cup history, so this team is making history again. We are so happy and looking forward. Hopefully the best will still be to come. I think we can improve and be much better.

“We have a massive game against Germany. It will be like a final. We know them. We are a very offensive team and they are maybe the most exciting team at this World Cup.

“They scored four goals in the last 16 and four in the quarter-finals, so they are very dangerous. But we will still have our chances against them. They will try to win, they will try to attack, and so we can have more space to exploit.”

Torres is looking for his first goal of the tournament and has found himself overshadowed by David Villa, who has been on target five times. He has stated, however, that it doesn’t matter whose name ends up on the score-sheet as long as Spain win.

“The main thing is that Spain can overcome Germany,” he said. ”It doesn’t matter who scores. Hopefully we can do it and, if I have the chance to score the winning goal, it will be nice to do it again.”

Villa netted his fifth goal of the tournament when his 83rd-minute strike earned Spain a 1-0 quarter-final success over Paraguay. ”David has been very important for us, the key for Spain,” Torres said.

“He is scoring important goals, he gives us the opportunity to keep looking forward thinking we can win the World Cup. It has been his World Cup.”

Torres confirmed he will put any talks about his Liverpool future with new manager Roy Hodgson on hold until after the FIFA World Cup. ”For now, my future is the World Cup and we still have a very important week ahead. I am sure we will talk soon,” he said.

Fernando Torres is confident he can now fully contribute to Spain’s FIFA World Cup™ cause and hopes his country can reap the benefits of his “perfect” understanding with David Villa.

The Liverpool forward played for 70 minutes in the 2-0 win over Honduras on Monday night as he continues his recovery from knee surgery. He found himself in goalscoring positions but perhaps lacked the killer instinct he has shown so often in the past for club and country, with strike partner Villa instead grabbing the headlines with two goals, a missed penalty and an unsavoury off-the-ball incident.

“I played 70 minutes and the good news is I feel ready to last for 90 minutes for the first time since my recovery,” said Torres. “Villa and I have said we understand each other perfectly and hopefully we can play together again, although we’ve always said that if we don’t then it doesn’t matter as long as the team works well.”

The next test for Spain is a game against Group H leaders Chile, a match Torres is determined to win to avoid the top team from Group G – most likely to be Brazil. New Barcelona recruit Villa set Spain on the path to victory with a superb individual effort and then added a second early in the second period to kill off Honduras and he insisted the team came into the match with no hangover from their opening defeat to Switzerland.

He said: “Our defeat against Switzerland was already water under the bridge, we talked about it and it’s not logical to look back. We played in the same style as we played against Switzerland, we attacked and played short passes.

“This first group of games is very difficult, we still have a match to play against Chile. Being world champions is a long way down the road. Not just for any national squad, but in terms of time as well, there is a long time to go before the final and there are many matches to play before then. At the moment we are focused on Chile, beating them and moving on to the next round.”

For Honduras the path to the last 16 is almost blocked. They need to beat Switzerland in their final group match and hope Chile do likewise against Spain, and for a goal difference swing in their favour.

Coach Reinaldo Rueda said: “It is going to be a difficult match, Switzerland have a great squad, but every single game in this tournament is different. You have to have stamina and psychologically you have to be very strong to take on board the defeats and then try to play an excellent match.”

Fernando Torres is optimistic about his chances of being fully fit for the start of Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ campaign. The Liverpool striker underwent an operation on torn cartilage in his right knee in April, sidelining him for the end of the Premier League season and leaving him in a race to be fit for the curtain-raiser against Switzerland.

However, the 26-year-old has insisted the recovery is going well and suggested he is on target to be at Vicente Del Bosque’s disposal on 16 June. “I’m very well, happy with the progress of the injury,” Torres, who also underwent a knee operation at the start of the year, told Marca.

“Since January I’ve had two operations, and that isn’t easy. Everything went very well with the first, and in the second the objective was to be ready between six and seven weeks, and I’m at the start of the sixth. I will do a few more days of specific work and, God willing, I’ll be 100 per cent for the first game of the World Cup for sure.”

Spain have three friendlies planned before leaving for Africa, facing Saudi Arabia and Korea Republic in Austria, and then Poland in Murcia. If Torres is back to peak fitness in time for the tournament, then it could be that he will be among the challengers to finish as the FIFA World Cup’s adidas Golden Shoe recipient, as the European champions are potential winners.

Asked if he felt any pressure to be the leading scorer, Torres said: “No, but I know that, along with (David) Villa, I’m lucky enough to be one of the strikers in a team that are among the favourites, and that brings certain privileges.”

Aside from Switzerland, Spain have also been placed alongside Honduras and Chile in Group H. If they get through, then Vicente Del Bosque’s side could face a tough hurdle in the second round, with one of Brazil, Portugal or Côte d’Ivoire their likely opponents.

If La Roja do manage to add the world title to their European crown, it would be a great end to what Torres admits has been a difficult season for him at club level with Liverpool. Aside from his injury problems, the Reds have struggled on the pitch and finished up seventh in the Premier League.

“It’s been a very difficult season,” said Torres. ”When you start a campaign you hope you will be able to fulfil your dreams, winning titles, not having injuries, enjoying yourselves, and it has been just the opposite.

“But there is always a tomorrow in football and this summer, the World Cup. I’ve put aside the club, the bad season, and I want to finish (the season) in the best way possible way by making history with my country.”

Happy at Anfield
Torres’s future at Liverpool has also been the centre of speculation, but the former Atletico Madrid player insists his mind is now focused solely on South Africa 2010. “I want to think about the national team, about winning,” he said. “Since I’ve been injured, the season has been over for me. I’ve started working morning and evening to be able to be here, thinking only of getting there.”

Torres’s agent, however, has assured Liverpool fans the forward “will continue at Liverpool next season”. Jose Antonio Peton told Punto Radio in Spain: “For the moment I can assure fans that Fernando will continue at Liverpool next season.

“Everything is down to Liverpool’s attitude, but for the time being Fernando is happy at the club and has a good contract. Liverpool have not spoken to us about his future, so he is just concentrating on playing at the World Cup.”

source : www.fifa.com

European champions Spain trained without star striker Fernando Torres in their first group training session on Monday as they prepare for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ finals, which run from June 11 to July 11 in South Africa.

Torres, who scored the winning goal when Spain won UEFA EURO 2008 against Germany, trained on his own as he continues his recovery from undergoing a second operation in three months to repair damage in his right knee on 18 April.

All his fellow squad members including Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas – who has fully recovered from the broken tibia he sustained at the end of March – trained for over an hour. Oscar Luis Celada, one of the squad’s medical team, said he was optimistic that Torres would be fit for the opening Group H match against Switzerland on 16 June in Durban.

The Spanish will train at Las Rozas till Friday when they depart for Austria. Aside from the Swiss Spain will also face Honduras and Chile in the finals.

source : www.fifa.com

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres remains a major doubt for Spain’s FIFA World Cup opener against Switzerland – but is putting in the hours in a bid to be fit.

The 26-year-old underwent an operation on his right knee last month and is now working six hours a day in a bid to face the Swiss on 16 June. “Right now, we cannot say whether Fernando will be ready in time for the first match against Switzerland,” said Spain team doctor Juan Jose Garcia Cota.

“He has started to work outside and is still doing gym work to improve the muscle tone around the knee. It takes a long time but the process we are following is still very good. We cannot say for sure but we are optimistic. There are still many days and the injury evolves day to day.”

Torres, who netted the winning goal for his country in the UEFA EURO 2008 final against Germany, was yesterday named in Vicente del Bosque’s preliminary 30-man squad. After tackling Switzerland in South Africa, Spain will play further Group H games against Honduras and Chile.