The European Champions will be bidding to get their World Cup campaign back on track when they face Honduras on Monday at the Ellis Park Stadium, kick-off at 20:30 hours (local time).

Despite dominating possession and play in their World Cup opener, Spain suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Switzerland. A solitary goal from Gelson Fernandes on 52 minutes secured the Swiss an unlikely victory over one of the tournament favourites.

Fernando Torres, who started the game on the bench, came on for the last half an hour. The striker came close to grabbing an equaliser, but Switzerland held on for a memorable win.

The loss leaves the European Champions requiring maximum points from their next two Group H outings to guarantee a place in the knock-out stages of the World Cup. A draw against the Central Americans would leave Spain looking elsewhere for a helping hand, and a defeat, would send the Red Fury out of the tournament.

The two teams have only met once previously. The match ended in a 1-1 draw as the Catrachos took a share of the spoils from the group stage clash at the 1982 World Cup held in Spain. The Central Americans also drew with Northern Ireland 1-1, before losing to Yugoslavia 1-0.

The 1982 tournament was Honduras’ first and only World Cup participation until this year. A 1–0 win against El Salvador gave them the third automatic qualifying spot, from the Fourth Round of CONCACAF Qualifying. Honduras finished behind the United States and Mexico, and above fourth-placed Costa Rica on goal difference.

The Catrachos lost to Chile 1-0 in their first group fixture. Jean Beausejour bundled home the winner in the 35th minute at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit to move them joint top of Group H with the Swiss.

Honduras has three players who ply their trade in the Premier League, and who Torres has faced at some point during his Liverpool career. Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas both play for Wigan, with Wilson Palacios playing for Tottenham, who this season finished above the Reds in fourth place.

Following Spain’s match with Honduras on Monday, Fernando Torres and his teammates will take on Chile in the final group game next Friday in Pretoria. The other Group H fixture between Switzerland and Honduras will kick-off at the same time.