Fernando Torres has spoken of his delight to be back in the Spain fold and is determined to make the most of his opportunity with World Cup spots up for grabs.

Fernando Torres... fighting for a place in the squad for Brazil.

A combination of injury and disappointing form for Chelsea had seen Fernando Torres lose his place in the Spain set-up over the last year but the striker earned a recall to the provisional 30-man World Cup squad that coach Vicente del Bosque named earlier this month.

And Torres was also one of the players retained by Del Bosque for their upcoming pre-World Cup friendly with Bolivia, giving the 30-year-old a chance to further press his claims for a spot on the plane to Brazil.

The former Atletico Madrid and Liverpool striker, who scored in the finals of both Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, said: “It’s very nice to be back with the national team. I’ve gone a year without being with La Roja, since the Confederations Cup.

“I knew that anything could happen. On Sunday, I was only hoping to hear my name. I knew that I could’ve been here or not, but now I have a better chance of being in Brazil.

“It’s been a difficult year but I finished the season with Chelsea very well. I’m grateful for the words of Vicente, who has valued my performances in the final phases.

“Now to fight during these days to be in the final list for Brazil.”

While Torres was included in Del Bosque’s 19-man squad for the game against Bolivia, three of his main rivals for a striking berth were left out, with Alvaro Negredo and Fernando Llorente omitted along with the injured Diego Costa.

Del Bosque was quick to point out that the World Cup door is not closed to any player, but Torres knows that he now has a great chance this week to steal a march on his rivals.

“This list is for the game against Bolivia. We need to take advantage this week, enjoy it and hopefully we can be in the final list. It is a big step to be here but in football, until things are done and dusted, anything can happen,” said Torres, who insists he is not concerned about the amount of competition he has for a place in the forward line.

“There’s always been a lot of competition here since the 2008 Euro Championships: Morientes, Raul, Villa, Soldado, Negredo, now Costa.

“The level is very high, but we’re not rivals, we’re team-mates and whoever is chosen to play has the support of everyone,” he said.