The above image is a common one in recent Spain games, but ask any Liverpool fan and you’ll be told Fernando is the best forward on the planet.  Ask any Premier League fan, and even the Evertonians will grudgingly agree that Torres is sublime.  But ask a Spaniard about his performances for the national team, and the response will probably be, “I prefer David Villa.”

He will be, at least for statistical reasons, correct in that judgement.  Torres, having played for La Furia Roja since the age of 19, has not made the same impression as David Villa has.  The latter became the country’s top goalscorer in an amazing 5 years since his debut at the age of 23.

No Spanish football fan cognizant in 2008 will ever forget the final of the European Championship in which Torres dinked the ball over Jens Lehmann after a long ball from Xavi, but Villa has simply done more in less time.  Or has he?

While it is true that Villa’s goal record is more impressive, Torres probably has an unfairly bad reputation as an international flop.  While he doesn’t score as often as he does for Liverpool, defenses are still terrified of his finishing, pace and movement.  When fit, he often draws defenders and creates the space into which Villa darts to claim the goals — and the reputation to go with it.

Now, this article isn’t meant to claim Torres isn’t underwhelming for Spain, but merely to show some reasons why he might be doing so.  Playing as David Villa’s foil is one of them.

Another reason might be that Spain’s style doesn’t suit Torres nearly as well as it does Villa.  Spain play like Barcelona: they possess and pass around the 18 yard box and wait until there is an opening.  This method suits quicker players, ones like Villa and Iniesta who can quickly change directions to be in tight space. (As an aside, this makes me wonder why the rumors are swirling that Barcelona are interested in Torres.  I doubt anything will come of it, but I digress.)

Shorter players like the aforementioned Blaugrana duo, the “culo bajo” types as they are inelegantly called in Spanish, have the ability to turn on a dime, essentially beating defenders with lateral movement.  Torres is a blindingly fast player — just ask Nemanja Vidic or any of the other Premier League defenders he has skinned in the past 3 seasons — but his movement is more direct, less lateral.

I’m not saying he can’t find space in a tight penalty box, but he is less likely to than someone like Villa.  And given the Spanish set up, the penalty box is often crowded as la Roja pass the ball around the outside, waiting for the right movement.

Now consider how Liverpool play.  It’s not quite the same approach; it relies less on lots of quick movement and more on fewer decisive balls.  This suits Torres far more, as he is physically more adept to scoring from these types of situations.  The decisive balls tend to be played from farther out, either as crosses from wide positions or longer direct passes from midfield (and no, I’m not accusing Liverpool of playing route one football, calm down).  I’m not sure if this style has a catchy name, but it is not the tiki-taka of FC Barcelona/La Furia Roja.

Torres is a supremely skilled finisher, and scores from many crosses into the box, with his head and feet.  However, the full extent of his pace is best illustrated in those situations where a long ball is played behind the defense and in front of the keeper.  In these moments Torres shows just how fast he can run.  Not since the heyday of Thierry Henry  has the Premier League seen a striker so deadly when given space between the back four and the keeper.  At full speed no defender can match him, and then it is usually a matter of finishing from one on one.

But Spain don’t play this way.  I’m not blaming them for not doing so either.  Any coach restricting Xavi and Iniesta to playing exclusively medium and long range passing to their center forwards would be an idiot.  But put in simple terms,the Spanish team doesn’t play the sort of balls Torres is so skilled at finishing so often as they do at Liverpool, and Torres suffers as a result.  But when they do play a direct weighted pass behind the back line and Torres is lurking, defenses should still beware.  Just ask Jens Lehmann, a witness to such a ball from Xavi that ended up behind him in 2008.

The countdown to South Africa 2010 may have started but there is still plenty of time for surprises to take place in terms of team selections and final squad lists. Coaches may spring a surprise or two and call upon unfamiliar names or perhaps the likes of the erratic Raymond Domenech will pick some unknown players.

Setting aside unforeseen events, injuries, suspensions or lack of form, a considerable number of players are all but guaranteed a spot o their national team’s roster heading to South Africa. It is perhaps early to confirm who has already scored his ticket to the World Cup but a few names will always surface when considering the most likely top scorer of the tournament. The top scorer does not have to be a striker so a number of attacking midfielders and wingers will be included on this potential list as shown below:

- Wayne Rooney: The English forward is still a young 24-year-old star player who will be the focus of Fabio Capello’s attacking schemes come next summer. Rooney scored 12 goals in 30 league appearances last season for Manchester United but he has already managed seven strikers in 11 games this season in the Premiership. The young forward has scored 25 times in the 55 matches he has played for his country. His last goal came in the World Cup qualifying destruction of Croatia (5-1 home triumph) back on 9 September 2009.

- David Villa: The striker has an impressive record with both Valencia and Spain. He has found the net on 35 occasions in just 54 appearances. This implies the talented player has a better strike ratio than a goal every two games. Villa has scored a remarkable nine goals in 10 la Liga games this season. He forms a frightening partnership with fellow attacker Fernando Torres.

- Fernando Torres:The Liverpool striker does not have Villa’s impressive scoring record but he is still a very dangerous man inside the box. He has netted 23 goals in 71 international appearances for Spain. His scoring tally with Liverpool is impressive as he notched 24 goals in 33 league appearances in his first season at Anfield and followed that with 14 strikes in 24 matches in the Premier League. This season Torres is amazingly on 10 goals in just 10 games.

- Didier Drogba: The Ivory Coast striker is one of the most lethal players at the international level having notched 41 goals in only 60 caps for his country. Drogba has been in great form this season for Carlo Ancelotti as he has found the back of the net nine times in 12 league appearances. Drogba is a nightmare for defenders when on form due to his strength, pace and scoring abilities.

- Luis Fabiano: His goal tally stands at 25 in the 36 times he has represented Brazil. He scored twice in the important 3-1 victory over Argentina in Rosario on September 5, 2009. Luis Fabiano was top scorer in the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 with five goals, including a double against the Unite States in the final. He has five goals to his credit this season in just seven la liga appearances.

- Lionel Messi: The talented player is considered by many as the best player in the world at the moment. He has only managed 13 strikes in 41 appearances for Argentina but he has been in stunning form for Barcelona. He led the club to a treble last season after scoring 38 goals in 51 total appearances for the club while also providing assists on 18 other goals. He had 23 goals in 31 league appearances last season and he is on course to match or even beat the impressive figure having already scored seven times in just 10 la Liga matches. Messi is a delight to watch as he takes on defenders while making it look easy.

- Kaka: The former Milan icon has scored 26 times for Brazil in 73 appearances. He was instrumental in Milan’s success in Europe during the 2006-07 season as the club won the Champions League on the back of his incredible performances. He would finish top scorer in the European competition that season with 10 goals. He is now part of Real Madrid’s second Los Galacticos era since the turn of the century. The talented Brazilian has only managed three goals in 10 matches in la Liga as he tries to adjust to life after Milan.

- Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese missed Portugal’s play-off triumph over Bosnia but he should be back for South Africa 2010 barring any injury. The current Real Madrid star has managed to find the net 22 times in 68 matches for Portugal. He has scored five goals in just five appearances for Los Blancos as he is out injured. His scoring record with Manchester United was remarkable having scored 17 goals in 34 matches in the league during the 2006-7 season and then followed it with a stunning 2007-08 season capped by his 31 goals in 34 appearances in the Premiership. In his final season with United, he scored 18 times in 33 matches in the league. He won the European Golden Shoe during the remarkable 2007-08 season as the leading scorer across all the top divisions in Europe.

- Thierry Henry: Currently the man behind the most controversial use of his hand to contribute to a goal! His handball assist to William Gallas eliminated the Irish and sent France to South Africa 2010. The striker was extremely lethal during his spell with Arsenal but his scoring tally with Barcelona is quite respectable as he managed 19 goals in 29 matches last season. He has played 117 times for France and scored 51 goals.

Most of the heavy favourites have already qualified for the World Cup due next summer in South Africa. Previous World Cup winners such as Brazil, Germany, England, Argentina and Italy (also current WC Winners) all booked their spot in South Africa following a long and arduous road. Some teams such as Argentina have struggled while others such as England have cruised, yet the World Cup stage is a different playing field and previous results will not count. The only two teams with an outside chance that have yet to qualify are France and Portugal while the Spaniards have impressed in their group following their 2008 triumph in Europe.

Spain cannot be overlooked due to its rich talent, in particular the likes of David Villa, Xavi Herndandez and Fernando Torres among others. Other than Spain, the English national team under Italian Coach Fabio Capello had an impressive tally of points after convincingly navigating the qualifying group stage. Capello can count on the likes of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, and Steven Gerrard to carry England all the way into the final stages.

The Brazilians and the Germans as well as the Italians often perform their best when it matters most. Brazil has a plethora of talent beginning with current Real Madrid star Kaka and stretching to right-back Maicon who plays for Inter Milan. The Italians are current World Cup holders so there will be additional pressure on the Azzurri to perform following  a relatively uninspiring qualifying campaign. It will be wrong to undermine Italy’s chances when considering that Gianluigi Buffon is recapturing his best form which had him labeled as the best custodian in the world while Daniele De Rossi remains a considerable driving force in the midfield engine room.

While Argentina had a horrendous sequence of results before securing qualification  in the very last match, it is not wise to exclude the Argentines from the list of potential winners though Diego Maradona as a coach has shown over and again that he not only lacks the know-how but also is clueless when it comes to strategies, team selection and tactics. After all, Argentina still has Lionel Messi though he continues to underperform when compared to his exploits with Barcelona.

Will one of the traditional powers (i.e. Brazil, Germany or Italy) or will an emerging nation (Spain and England) or a new rising team (Ivory Coast) triumph in South Africa? For the record no European team has ever won outside Europe and the trend could very well continue if Brazil performs up to expectations or perhaps a surprising African package rises to the occasions just as the South Koreans did in Asia 2002 when they made it to the semi-finals.