Spain's 10th all-time top scorer Ferran Torres hopes to end his World Cup drought

Football rewards versatile and adaptable players. But its algorithm struggles when it tries to put a label on Ferran Torres. He is a player who is and isn't at the same time.

Not quite a striker, not quite a winger, even though he can play both roles. Not a goal machine, but not goal-shy either, as he can go on a spectacular scoring run or just as easily go through a dry spell. There's been a lot of talk about Spain's number 7 and his performances after the first two matches. It's a reality that the man from Foios knows all too well.

Perhaps this strangeness, this difficulty in classifying him, has been there since birth - on February 29th of the leap year 2000, which changed the millennium's prefix. Technically, the 26-year-old forward has only celebrated seven birthdays.

There's no better way to describe someone capable of both the best and the worst, of shining when no one expects it, and of disappointing when everything is in his favour.

All of this is set against a World Cup backdrop where he was singled out in Spain's first two matches. Against Cape Verde, for being an ineffective winger on a day when the team's sluggishness and lack of pace didn't help him either. Against Saudi Arabia, playing as a '9', for missing a clear chance.

'Please, let it be a goal'

That he's not feeling in top form was clear in the moment when his goal, which would have made it 5-0, was disallowed. While VAR was drawing its lines with a delay, cameras caught him whispering, "Please, let it be a goal."

This season, too, he went through a severe goal drought that was hard to break. And, ironically, it came after a start with record-breaking numbers. So the Valencian is used to riding out the ups and downs.

In fact, despite always being under heavy criticism, his coaches have always backed him and given him their trust: Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Xavi Hernández, Hansi Flick, Luis de la Fuente... he's played an important role for all of them.

And then there are his numbers with Spain. Despite his ups and downs, Spain's 10th all-time top scorer averages 0.64 goals every 90 minutes in the red shirt.

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