Mata: Torres will be at the European Championships

Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2012 by YAHOO Sport

Juan Mata is confident that Chelsea teammate Fernando Torres will make Spain's squad for the European Championships.

Torres was not called up for February's friendly against Venezuela as a result of his poor run of form at Chelsea in what was the first time in five years that he had been left out of the national team for reasons other than injury.

The 28-year-old ended his scoring drought with a double in Sunday's 5-2 FA Cup victory against Leicester City, and Mata believes that his compatriot will be part of Vicente del Bosque's side in Poland and Ukraine.

"In the end, I think that Torres will be at the Euros," Mata told Cadena SER. "He has enough credit to play for Spain. He has given a lot to the national team and to the clubs where he has been. I am sure that he will do great things until the end of the season. Del Bosque will have a [selection] problem."

Mata then spoke of Torres' relief at scoring again after going over 26 games without finding the back of the net.

"He went through a tough period," Mata explained. "He was suffering because he was not scoring and because everyone wants to play all the time and that was not the case for him. He is playing more often now and he is regaining trust in himself, which is good for him."

The 23-year-old attacker also praised former Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas, and disputed the notion that the Portuguese failed to see eye-to-eye with the squad's veterans.

"I am very thankful to Villas-Boas," Mata said. "He was very important for me to sign for Chelsea. He did not have problems with the players. Those are things which people on the outside say but which are not true.

"Villas-Boas wanted to change the team's playing style and philosophy, but the results were not happening and everything got much more complicated."

Mata himself has made 16 appearances for Spain, scoring five goals in the process.