No special treatment for Torres

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has made it clear Fernando Torres will have to earn his place in at Euro 2012 with good performances for Chelsea.

The striker netted the winner in Spain’s 1-0 win over Germany in the final of the 2008 European Championships, but has been struggling to find his best form at club level since leaving Liverpool for Chelsea in January 2011.

And Del Bosque has now insisted that his selection for next year’s tournament will be based on actual performances rather than on achievements from the past.

“There will not be any privileges for anyone. There is a lot of competition for places and we have to be fair,” Del Bosque said at a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Group I qualifier at home to Scotland.

“Fernando Torres has a great history with the national side, but he also has a role to play right now. He’s in the squad because of his performances at club level.”

“We will see how things stand ahead of Euro 2012.”

Torres was part of the starting XI in Spain’s 2-0 win over Czech Republic last Friday, but failed to find the net and was taken off after an hour.

Spain have already assured their spot at Euro 2012 with seven wins from seven matches so far in qualifying ahead of their final group match against the Scots in Alicante.