Spain manager Vincent del Bosque has said that Fernando Torres must begin to perform for his club if he is to retain his starting place in the national team.
The 27-year-old striker has struggled for Chelsea since joining for £50m in January from Liverpool, scoring once.
"[Torres] is an important player, but the people selected for the national team are those who do well for their clubs, not the other way round," said Del Bosque.
Torres was left out of the starting XI for Spain's 6-0 victory over Liechtenstein on Tuesday.
Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo started up front and scored twice to take his international goalscoring record to five in seven games, but the striker has nothing but respect for Torres.
"He came down to the dressing room after the game and congratulated me," said Negredo.
"I'm not going to enter into whether he was annoyed or anything - it was a great gesture to congratulate me for the goals.
"It isn't much fun to come and not play a single minute, but he is a great colleague and is one of the captains of the team."
Torres will be looking to open his Premier League account when Chelsea host Sunderland on Saturday.
Pascal Lemesre
