Torres hits new low as £50m Chelsea flop is dropped by Spain with swipe from Del Bosque



Fernando Torres' stuttering career suffered another setback when he was axed from the Spain squad on Tuesday night.



The £50million Chelsea striker did not even earn a place on the bench as his country sealed qualification for Euro 2012 by thrashing Liechtenstein 6-0.



Axed: Fernando Torres (left) was dropped by Spain

Torres has flopped at Stamford Bridge since arriving in a British record deal from Liverpool in the January transfer window.



Manager Andres Villas-Boas has persevered with the striker but he is now longer receiving the same patience at international level.



In a thinly-veiled swipe, Spain boss Vicente del Bosque said: 'He is an important player but the people selected for the national team are those who do well for their clubs, not the other way round.'



Torres has scored 27 times for Spain, including the only goal in their Euro 2008 final win over Germany, but was short of match fitness after injury and contributed little to last year's victorious World Cup campaign.



Troubles: Torres has failed to shine in the Chelsea shirt

Over the past year he has only managed to find the net once for the national team - in a June friendly against the United States - as the competition to be David Villa's strike partner is heating up.



Villa, Spain's all-time top scorer, took his tally to 49 in Logrono on Tuesday, while Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo bagged his third goal in two matches.



Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente and Valencia's Roberto Soldado - who notched a hat-trick on the opening day of the La Liga season - are also pushing hard for the trip to Poland and the Ukraine.



Former Real Madrid youth team forward Negredo, played down the significance of Torres's relegation to the stands.



Hitman: Alvaro Negredo scored twice in the win over Liechtenstein

He told sports newspaper AS: 'He came down to the dressing room after the game and congratulated me.



'I'm not going to enter into whether he was annoyed or anything, it was a great gesture to congratulate me for the goals.



'I would understand it if he was, because it isn't much fun to come and not play a single minute, but he is a great colleague and is one of the captains of the national team.'





