Spain arrival at South Africa with the tag of favourites and in an interview with Onda Madrid radio, Fernando Torres spoke of Spain’s chances at the 2010 World Cup. The European Championship triumph, including wins against Italy in the quarter-finals and against Germany with a goal from Torres in the final, changed the country’s fortunes. “The match against Italy at Euro 2008 changed everything. They were a side we were hoping to avoid but our lucked changed that day. We are no longer afraid of the knock-out stages or quarter-final stage of a tournament. Now it’s our rivals who are concerned about facing us.”

The forward believes that the squad are hungry for more success and that the players all want to lead their country to their first World Cup trophy. “The squad has some new faces, quality footballers with hunger and who will improve the side. We arrive in South Africa looking to write a new page in the history of Spanish football. Hopefully we can follow in the foot-steps of France and Germany in winning the European Championships followed by the World Cup. We never know how long our good run will last, so we have to try to make the most of it now. But we can’t forget that there are other countries with more experience at these events and who warrant the favourites' tag more than we do.”

Torres feels that Spain’s attractive style of play from the European Champions will return at the 2010 World Cup. “We want to build on that triumph and our football will be just as good as it was in Austria and Switzerland.”

With plenty of competition for places no player has a guarantee of a place in the first team. “The manager isn’t letting on. We are all hoping to get our chance, and I believe that it is positive for the group that no player is guaranteed of a start.”