Torres dedicates hat-trick to African fans

The Liverpool striker hit three stunning goals in the space of just 17 minutes as the European Champions swept New Zealand aside 5-0 in their opening Confederations Cup match.

The Anfield hitman stepped onto the field in South Africa to see his name blazed across banners and replica shirts.

So by the time he picked the ball out of the net following his heroics in the rout of the Kiwis in Group A, he dedicated his goals to the home fans.

"I would like to thank all the Africans here," Torres said afterwards.

"It's great. It almost feels like home and it’s good to be in a team which is winning fans all over the world.

"It is good to have them feel happy now – and also we want to make them happy at the World Cup next year.

"Nobody is easy to beat 5-0, especially when you are playing against champions of the different confederations. We scored three early goals and the game was over in the first half.

"I want to say thank you to the African fans who welcomed especially me tonight. This hat-trick is for them.

"We expected to win, but not by five goals."

Named man-of-the-match for his stunning performance, Torres said he had never scored a faster hat-trick in his professional career.

"This is my second hat-trick for Spain and it makes me very proud," Torres added.

"But I owe it to my colleagues because they worked so hard.

"We felt very at ease in the match, the altitude had no impact, it was no problem playing at 1,500 metres. It was a very good experience."

And after one local reporter cheekily asked him about his future, following wild weekend speculation linking Torres with both Real Madrid and Manchester United, he added: "Although it might seem otherwise, we do not speak a lot about our clubs, we try to distance ourselves from these things.

"Anyway, I think my future is clear."

New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert whose team were destroyed by Spain's opening burst of four goals in 24 minutes was understandably less enthused by the start of the competition.

"We were a bit tentative for the first 25 minutes against the best team in the world and we got punished for a lot of things," Herbert said.

"Spain must be the favourites to go on and win the tournament I would think, they have Champions League holders in there and they are the European champions."