Perhaps fittingly, considering that he is sporting a new barnet which makes him resemble a young military cadet, Fernando Torres went into full Corporal Jones mode as he suggested there was no panic following the alarming false start to Spain's World Cup bid, which they will seek to rectify here on Monday night.

Hmm. While there may not be nationwide alarm on the scale that has sent England into crisis summit mode in Rustenburg, when 'El Nino' and his mates blew in to Johannesburg there was no camouflaging the growing pressure engulfing the pre-tournament favourites as they prepare to face Honduras at Ellis Park following their opening game defeat by Switzerland.

Spanish Federation President Angel Villar Mar tried to be blasé with his suggestion that "it's not a disaster if we don't get out of the first phase". What? An incredible comment. Can you imagine the uproar if a senior FA official had said something similar about an early England exit?

The Spanish press felt the defeat had been a "nightmare – a dose of humility" and when Luis Aragones, who guided them to the Euro 2008 title, went out of his way to criticise his successor's tactics, it was about as helpful to Vicente del Bosque as a vuvuzela being blasted in his earhole.

For it is not easy to dismiss the views of the man who brought Spain its first silverware for two decades. "I am sure that Luis would never say or do anything that would hurt the team," Torres said. "He formed this group of players .and has more right than anyone to air his views. His opinion is more valid than any other."

To which Del Bosque, with the world weary, heard-it-all, seen-it-all air that only a bloke who got sacked for winning two European Cups with Real Madrid could carry, responded: "I will never utter a single word against the former coach because there is no Spain of Luis or Spain of del Bosque. There is only one Spain." A brilliant answer.

"One Spain" now fervently hopes for a dramatic return for the golden one who shot them to the Euro title in Vienna, now that he is completely fit following his knee operation in April.

Torres was given half an hour against Switzerland, during which his old strike partnership with David Villa breathed fresh life into Spain.

Aragones' criticism had been that, employing two deep-lying midfielders in Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets in a 4-5-1 system, was just too far too conservative against a Swiss team lacking in such ambition that Johan Cruyff noted: "It isn't illegal to play the way they did but it is ugly, sterile and boring."

Torres is itching to enjoy a full run alongside Villa but does not envisage swingeing changes. He knows a second defeat in 27 games under his stewardship is not about to faze del Bosque. "If we go down we will do so remaining true to our ideas," said the Liverpool man. "We mustn't go crazy and start changing things, but retain our confidence in our qualities.

"We're not going to start playing a long ball game or being cagey and staying back. That is not the Spanish way." No, the Spanish way is to pass opponents to distraction before toreador Torres applies the knife thrust. In training, he has been firing again; off the pitch, he sounds increasingly like a leader.

"We know how to can pick ourselves up and we can still win the tournament," he said. History suggests otherwise, that no team which loses its first game at a World Cup ever goes on to win it. But then their young champion Torres never did buy into Spain's inability to win a major title either.