Goal.com

Thr hat-trick hero of Spain's 5-0 thrashing of New Zealand has thanked the fans for welcoming Spain and dedicating his three goals to them.

Spain cruised to a 5-0 win against minnows New Zealand in today's Confederations Cup action, but it was Liverpool striker Fernando Torres who stole the show with his second hat-trick for the Spanish national team, scoring all three goals in the first 20 minutes.

After the game 'El Nino' was interviewed by an Iraqi journalist, and he was his usual humble self when he said, "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."

The striker added, "We expected to win, but not by five goals. It is always a pleasure to play with team-mates like Xavi and [David] Villa, who have such massive quality."

Torres then said, "This is my second hat-trick for Spain and it makes me very proud. I want to say thank you to the African fans who welcomed especially me tonight. This hat-trick is for them."

The striker also spoke to Telecinco tv, who asked the player about how he felt after overcoming the legendary Telmo Zarra and ex Real madrid midfielder, Michel in the Spanish goal scoring charts with 22 strikes to his name.

"The truth is that it was a great start for the team. Personally the three goals have come at a great time. Starting with goals is always good and three is even better. Surpassing a legend like Zarra is always important and now we have to keep trying to make history," said the Liverpool star.

He continued, "The national team deserves this great form. After many years of suffering and not having good football with the national team, now is an era that we can enjoy. I believe this generation still has many years ahead of us and we will try to give our best and win titles. This is our next goal and it is ideal preparation for the World Cup, so we will enjoy this era."

Finally, when asked what he would say if Florentino Perez wanted to sign him at Real Madrid, Torres answered, "Here, although it might seem otherwise, we do not speak a lot about our teams, we try to distance ourselves from these things. Anyway, I think my future is clear."

Torres is on track to confirm himself as the bookies favourite to bag a bunch of goals and become top scorer of the Confederations Cup tournament.

Peter Pedroncelli & James Walker-Roberts, Goal.com