Fernando Torres with the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Golden Boot award

Fernando Torres is a retired Spanish international footballer who represented his country 110 times and scored 38 goals between his international debut in 2003 and his final match in 2014. As of 2024, he is the third top scorer in the history of the national team, with only David Villa (59) and Raúl (44) having scored more goals for the country. Spain never lost a match in which he scored.[1]

Having represented Spain at various youth levels, Torres made his senior debut on 6 September 2003 against Portugal and scored his first goal in a friendly match against Italy on 28 April 2004.[2][3] During qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Torres scored seven goals in 11 appearances to help Spain qualify for the tournament.[4] At the tournament proper he scored three goals, including a brace against Tunisia, as Spain were eliminated by France in the Round of 16.[5] Two years later, at UEFA Euro 2008, Torres scored the winning goal in the 33rd minute of the final against Germany, ending Spain's run of 44 years without a trophy.[6]

Spain's success at Euro 2008 saw the nation qualify as European champions for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, the curtain-raiser for the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa. Torres scored three goals at the tournament, a hat-trick in Spain's 5–0 win over New Zealand on 14 June.[7] His treble, which was scored within 11 minutes from kick-off, is the fastest hat-trick scored in the competition's history. He failed to score at the World Cup a year later but was part of the Spain squad which won the tournament, featuring as a late substitute in the final.[8]

In 2012, Torres was selected for Spain's UEFA Euro 2012 squad and won the Golden Boot award for his three goals scored at the tournament. He netted a brace against the Republic of Ireland before scoring the third goal in a 4–0 win over Italy in the final. Torres' goal against the Italians was his second in the final of a European Championship.[9] The following year, Torres scored five goals at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. His tally, which included a four-goal haul against Tahiti, earned him another Golden Boot award.[10][11] He was then included in Spain's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil and scored against Australia in a 3–0 group-stage victory. It was a dead rubber match for Spain, however, as their elimination from the competition had already been confirmed.[12]

Of Torres' 38 international goals scored, 10 were scored in friendlies, 8 at Confederations Cup Finals, 7 during World Cup Qualifiers, 5 at the European Championship Finals and 4 in both the European Championship Qualifiers and the World Cup Finals.[13]

List of international goals

Spain score listed first, score column indicates score after each Torres goal.[14]
List of international goals scored by Fernando Torres
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
1 28 April 2004 Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa, Italy 5  Italy 1–0 1–1 Friendly [3]
2 9 February 2005 Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, Almería, Spain 15  San Marino 2–0 5–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [15]
3 26 March 2005 Helmántico Stadium, Salamanca, Spain 16  China 1–0 3–0 Friendly [16]
4 8 October 2005 King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium 23  Belgium 1–0 2–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [17]
5 2–0
6 12 October 2005 Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino 24  San Marino 2–0 6–0 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [18]
7 5–0
8 6–0
9 12 November 2005 Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid, Spain 25  Slovakia 3–1 5–1 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification [19]
10 7 June 2006 Stade de Genève, Carouge, Switzerland 30  Croatia 2–1 2–1 Friendly [20]
11 14 June 2006 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, Germany 31  Ukraine 4–0 4–0 2006 FIFA World Cup [21]
12 19 June 2006 Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany 32  Tunisia 2–1 3–1 2006 FIFA World Cup [5]
13 3–1
14 2 September 2006 Estadio Nuevo Vivero, Badajoz, Spain 36  Liechtenstein 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [22]
15 12 September 2007 Estadio Carlos Tartiere, Oviedo, Spain 45  Latvia 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualification [23]
16 14 June 2008 Tivoli-Neu, Innsbruck, Austria 51  Sweden 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2008 [24]
17 29 June 2008 Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria 54  Germany 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 2008 [6]
18 19 November 2008 El Madrigal, Villarreal, Spain 58  Chile 2–0 3–0 Friendly [25]
19 9 June 2009 Tofiq Bahramov Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan 62  Azerbaijan 6–0 6–0 Friendly [26]
20 14 June 2009 Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, South Africa 63  New Zealand 1–0 5–0 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup [7]
21 2–0
22 3–0
23 12 August 2009 Philip II Arena, Skopje, Macedonia 68  Macedonia 1–2 3–2 Friendly [27]
24 8 June 2010 Estadio Nueva Condomina, Murcia, Spain 73  Poland 5–0 6–0 Friendly [28]
25 3 September 2010 Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein 81  Liechtenstein 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualification [29]
26 3–0
27 4 June 2011 Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States 85  United States 4–0 4–0 Friendly [30]
28 30 May 2012 Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland 92  South Korea 1–0 4–1 Friendly [31]
29 14 June 2012 Arena Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland 95  Republic of Ireland 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2012 [9]
30 3–0
31 1 July 2012 Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kyiv, Ukraine 98  Italy 3–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2012 [9]
32 20 June 2013 Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 103  Tahiti 1–0 10–0 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup [11]
33 3–0
34 6–0
35 9–0
36 23 June 2013 Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil 104  Nigeria 2–0 3–0 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup [32]
37 30 May 2014 Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Seville, Spain 107  Bolivia 1–0 2–0 Friendly [33]
38 21 June 2014 Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães, Curitiba, Brazil 110  Australia 2–0 3–0 2014 FIFA World Cup [12]

See also

References

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  4. ^ "Fernando Torres". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Spain 3–1 Tunisia". BBC Sport. 19 June 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Winter, Henry (30 June 2008). "Fernando Torres' strike wins Euro 2008 for Spain to leave Germany empty handed". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Fernando Torres's hat-trick stains All Whites". The Guardian. London. 14 June 2009. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
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  10. ^ Peck, Brooks (1 July 2013). "Fernando Torres wins another Golden Boot award, is understandably less than excited about it". Yahoo! Sports. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Confederations Cup: Fernando Torres scores four (despite missing a penalty) as Spain crush Tahiti 10–0". The Independent. London. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 27 April 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
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  13. ^ "Torres, Fernando". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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  27. ^ "Macedonia 2–3 Spain". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
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  32. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (23 June 2013). "Spain v Nigeria: Confederations Cup – As it happened". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  33. ^ "Spain 2–0 Bolivia". Sky Sports. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.

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