As a Liverpool supporter once England were knocked out of the World Cup my allegiance immediately switched to Spain as our beloved Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina are in the squad.
Although a fantastic goalkeeper, and one could argue the best in the Premiership, Reina was unlikely to feature in the competition due to the brilliance of Iker Casillas, but I’m sure Reina knew this going in.
Torres was also up against it due to his fight for fitness after knee surgery and it was great to see him recover in time to play. However, the effects of the surgery has seen Torres struggle to get fully fit and as a result it has impacted his sharpness, which will be a great cause of frustration to him.
Torres, however, should have been on the scoreboard today against Germany if it wasn’t for the idiotic thinking of Pedro. Breaking into the German box all Pedro had to do was simply passed the ball to Torres, who was standing completely unmarked on the penalty spot, and it would have been 2-0, game over. Instead he let the thought of glory go to his head, tried to beat the German defender and lost the ball. Torres was disgusted at Pedro’s lack of vision, as was the Spanish manager and team, and he was promptly substituted.
But even though Torres has not been at his brilliant best so far in the World Cup I have a feeling he will play an instrumental, and lethal, role in deciding the outcome of Sunday’s final. With one flash of genius Torres can turn a game and I for one will be hoping Vicente del Bosque, Spain’s coach, allows Torres the opportunity to do just that.
Technorati Tags: Fernando Torres, Spain, World Cup, Pepe Reina, Pedro
