It took Fernando just eleven minutes to score his second treble for his country. The striker who opened his account after just 6 minutes against New Zealand with an excellent shot from the edge of the area, added his second on 13 minutes, before grabbing his third on 17 minutes.

The previous record for Spain was shared by two players. Sixty years ago, on June 19, 1949, Barcelona winger Basora scored three goals against France in twelve minutes (14 – 26 minutes). This feat was equalled by David Villa (33 – 45 minutes) in Spain’s 6-0 friendly win over Azerbaijan last week.

Next down on the list is Carlos Alonso Santillana. The Real Madrid player put three (15 – 29 minutes) past the Malta goalkeeper Bonello in Spain’s historical 12-1 win over the Islanders.

Fernando Torres’ treble for Spain in their 5-0 thrashing of New Zealand at the Royal Bakofeng Stadium was his second hat-trick for his country. The striker scored three for Spain in a World Cup qualifier against San Marino back October 12, 2005.

With his hat-trick in his country’s Confederations Cup debut victory, the Liverpool forward also broke another record which has stood for seventy years. In 1929 Rubio scored three goals for Spain versus Portugal in the opening twenty minutes (1, 9 and 20 minutes), a record bettered by Torres with his three goals coming in the first 17 minutes.