Torres Ready To Go Distance

Fernando Torres believes he is ready to play 90 minutes for Spain after starting his first game of the World Cup finals on Monday evening.

The Liverpool striker figured for 70 minutes as La Furia Roja recorded their first win in South Africa with a 2-0 success over Honduras.

With a first start since undergoing knee surgery in April now under his belt, Torres insists he is ready to go the distance in Spain's next outing against Chile on Friday.

"I'm ready to play the full 90 minutes when the boss sees fit," he said.

"I played 70 minutes and the good news is I feel ready to last for 90 minutes for the first time since my recovery."

David Villa struck twice to help Vicente del Bosque's side to three points against the Hondurans, while the Barcelona newboy also missed a penalty during an absorbing encounter in Johannesburg.

The result means a win over Group H leaders Chile will see Spain successfully navigate their way into the last 16 of the World Cup.

"Once again we created plenty of chances," reflected El Nino. "We scored, but we missed a lot of chances. We still need to get the feel of the ball.

"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.

"Jesus Navas got to the by-line well and we spent most of the game camped in their half. And scoring in the first-half helped the side a lot. Our gameplan is clear."

He added: "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."

While England's frustrating World Cup campaign has come under the media microscope recently, Torres is eager to highlight the positive backing Spain are receiving back home.

He said: "We are very happy with the press back home. They have shown their support to the team since day one.

"The rest of the world are waiting for us to make a mistake, they doubt our style of play, but I don't feel that they have any reason to do so."