This might sound like just about the stupidest thing you've ever heard but bear with it for a moment. It's not quite as absurd as you might think. Ok, here goes ... Fernando Torres is Spain's Emile Heskey. On the face of it there is no comparison. Last season the Spaniard scored 18 Premier League goals despite missing much of the season through injury. Heskey got three. In his three years in England, Torres has scored 56 times; Heskey would have to go back nine campaigns to rack up as many. Meanwhile, the Englishman has scored seven at international level, while his counterpart has 24.

It is at international level, though, where there is a curious parallel developing between the two. Neither has scored at the World Cup. In fact, Torres has not scored for Spain since last summer, and Heskey has not scored for England since June last year. But he did at least score during qualification, which is more than can be said for Torres.

It should not have been so long. Torres wasted two wonderful opportunities against Honduras; Heskey failed to take his chance against the USA.

Not that anyone was surprised, or even especially angry. Most imagined Heskey would miss, and scoring goals was officially not his job. When Torres missed, the surprise was greater. But here's the thing: scoring is not his job either.

"David [Villa] is the goalscorer," Torres said. "He's the one whose responsibility it is to score [for Spain]. When I was 17 I would get annoyed if I didn't score but not any more."

For a man with more than 150 goals to his name, it was a startling remark, and Torres does care about getting goals himself. It could also be dismissed as an attempt to ease the pressure – and questions certainly have been asked about the Madrileño's form and finishing.

Yet the sentiment was not entirely misplaced. Both Torres and Heskey have found themselves in a situation in which they are, rarely for a forward, judged not so much on their own performances as that of the man alongside them.

Though the doubts lingered, and are ever greater now, England fans long learnt to value Heskey for something other than goals, Gérard Houllier once brandishing the figures to underline his importance, even if those figures did not include goals scored. Now Spanish fans are having similar discussions about Torres.

He has twice undergone operations this year. This might be a World Cup but he is undergoing a kind of pre-season; against Honduras he started a match for the first time in three months. "The most important thing," he said, "is that I'm progressing." The most important thing is that Spain are. And although superficial judgments suggest otherwise, Torres is a central reason why.

It is the performance of the men alongside them that means Heskey and Torres have such different horizons; and that, in turn, says something about their displays. Wayne Rooney failed to score; Villa has scored three times. Or to put it another way: Heskey failed to help Rooney score; Torres helped Villa score – an interpretation that comes as a comfort to Torres, something to which he can cling in his drought.

Heskey was dropped from and ultimately had to head for home with the defeated squad; Torres will be included as Spain face Portugal tonight believing that they can reach the final on 11 July. The reason is simple: even without getting goals, Torres has proven fundamental.

The Liverpool striker was absent from the starting line-up in Spain's 1–0 defeat in the opening game against Switzerland. When he has been included, Villa has scored three times, mostly coming in from the left. Against Chile, it was Torres's power and pace that presented Villa with the chance – if it can even be called a "chance" – to score.

The move was reminiscent of Villa's first at Euro 2008, a goal he greeted by pointedly celebrating with Torres, the provider.

The roles remain. "Torres generates a lot of space for me – anyone can see that," Villa says.

"Torres hasn't scored goals yet; he lacks pace and his finishing needs to improve, but he is very valuable," says Vicente del Bosque, Spain's coach. "He ties up the defenders, is a constant threat and opens spaces. He always offers himself, especially at the hardest moments, and causes problems with his power and pace."

Javi Venta, the Villarreal defender, adds: "When Torres plays, Villa plays better. He has more freedom, greater mobility."

The former Spain midfielder Victor Muñoz defines it in a phrase: "Torres makes the pitch longer."

Torres adds: "Look at Villa's figures, they're incredible. He's the Seleccion's goalscorer and always has been." Well, not always. The last time questions were raised about Torres's goalscoring ability, during Euro 2008, he silenced them in style. By scoring the most important goal in the country's history.