TORRES comes of age in World Cup cauldron

High-flying Spaniard Fernando Torres is set to blow his way through Saudi Arabia's leaky defence boosting a World Cup goals tally that could in turn spark English Premiership interest in his talents.

The Spain striker, who sits one goal behind Germany's four-goal hero Miroslav Klose in the World Cup scoring table, may be relatively unknown outside the Primera Liga where he plays for Madrid's unfashionable Atletico.

However his World Cup performances for Spain - capping some blistering attacking displays with three goals in two games - could change his footballing horizons.

Torres has in the past been courted by some of England's biggest clubs and at only 22 years old, the player known as 'El Nino' (The Kid) is still a huge prospect.

Torres opened his account with a goal against Ukraine, and was on hand with two crucial goals to help Spain qualify for the second round in Stuttgart on Monday with a convincing 3-1 win over Tunisia.

While regularly criticised for missing goalscoring opportunities, he is regarded as a vital element in Aragones' attack.

His first goal against Tunisia on Monday came after he ran 50 yards on to a through ball down the left from Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas.

After rounding the last defender, the outside of Torres' right foot sent an exquisite angled shot past the hapless Tunisia keeper Ali Boumnijel and into the net from 18 yards.

In the absence of Spain's habitual penalty taker David Villa, who was substituted for strapping forward Joaquin in the 55th minute, Torres' second came from the penalty spot after he had been obstructed in the box.

"David (Villa) wasn't there to take it as he usually does, so it came down to me," said Torres, in the simplest of terms.

In their two matches so far Spain coach Luis Aragones has left Raul on the bench and substituted all of his leading forwards - bar one.

On Friday, Torres is again likely to start and finish a match which the already eliminated 'Sons of the Desert' will be hoping does not turn into a goals-fest in Spain's favour.

Aragones is not normally known for singing his players' praises, but when it comes to Torres, who scored seven goals for Spain in their qualifying campaign, he is prepared to make an exception.

"Fernando is an enormously strong player," said Aragones after the Tunisia game.

"He has great physical condition and boundless energy, although he still has some things to improve on."

Although one of the Liga's most feared strikers, Torres has probably suffered playing at Atletico - where Aragones made his name as a goalscoring midfielder before going on to coach at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

Atletico are usually left playing for honours in mid-table, meaning their profile in the Champions League is practically non-existent.

And given that a transfer to Real, or Barcelona would be practically impossible for Torres, the general feeling in Spain is that he will soon give in to the temptation and, like Luis Garcia or Cesc Fabregas, move to England.

Source: AFP