Fernando Torres might be one of the hottest properties in Europe, yet that hasn’t stopped his national team coach from having a pop at El Nino after a display of petulance on Tuesday evening. The Liverpool striker had set his country well on their way to a 4-1 victory over Russia, before being substituted by Luis Aragones. However, the Daily Mail report that the striker spat his dummy unceremoniously at the decision, refusing to shake the hand of his gaffer, incurring his wrath as a result.

The coach said: ‘You can’t let these things happen. I understand the player gets angry and I am with Torres, but putting it right afterwards is important.

‘A player must first be angry with himself. The atmosphere in the squad is extraordinary and we’ve instilled into them from the first moment that those who don’t play are as important as those who do.’.

Torres is not accustomed to being substituted in the 54th minute for Liverpool and he was probably frustrated at not having scored for Spain in the opener. However, it’s not exactly the way to curry favour with your manager, who is clearly very much his own person when it comes to decision-making. Let’s see if the forward gets the nod against Sweden on Saturday.