The Spaniards easily won group H with maximum nine points, while France had to settle with a hard-fought qualification as group G runners-up and the two teams will play in the round of 16 in Hanover on Tuesday.

"Though France haven't played very well, they still have great players and I'd have wanted to avoid meeting them because they can win a game in an instant," Torres said in an interview with FIFAworldcup.com.

The Atletico Madrid striker is playing his first World Cup with Spain and after scoring three goals in three games, Torres is a strong contender for the tournament's golden boot award.

"I'm very happy with how things have gone for me, I've played in all three games and scored goals and the team also won, so far things are going better than I thought," he said.

"To finish as top scorer, your team has to play maximum number of games.

"That's very important as it'd mean that Spain have the chance of winning it, I hope both things can happen."

Spain wasn't able to go past the quarter final stage in any World Cup and despite the psychological burden, Torres is confident this time around they can go much further.

"First of all we've got to get through the second round, but if we carry on playing the way we've done so far, we won't have to worry about the particular hurdle."