The Spanish national team manager Vicente del Bosque has decided to omit the Chelsea striker Fernando Torres for the second consecutive game. The former Liverpool and Atletico Madrid striker is on a very poor run of form, which has seen him score just one goal in 13 appearances for his club. As a result, he has not been called up for the friendly match against Qatar. This is not the first time that Torres has been left out of the Spanish squad by the former Real Madrid manager. He has said that even though Torres is one of the experienced players for Spain, there was unfortunately no space for him in the squad.
The 28-year-old striker has represented the national team in 101 matches. He was previously not part of the Spanish squad that played against Panama in a friendly match. Even with the news that Torres will not be taking part in this match, Chelsea have received a boost in the form of the call-up to the right back Azpilicueta. The former Marseille defender joined the club in the summer for around £ 7 million. He has established himself as the first choice right back at Chelsea under Rafa Benitez. Del Bosque also admitted that it was a difficult decision to leave out the Swansea striker Michu.
“Torres is one of our most experienced players but neither could we find him space,” said del Bosque regarding his decision to leave out Torres. “It has left a little bit of a bad taste in the mouth not to call up someone [Michu] who deserves it. But those who have been named also deserve it. We recognise his worth and his goals in the Premier League, but we couldn’t find a space for him at the moment. In the position which Michu plays there is great competition with five or six players,” said del Bosque regarding Michu.