Ferran Torres Marks World Cup Debut By Scoring Twice In Front Of Girlfriend Sira Martinez... And Her Dad, Spain Manager Luis Enrique
Ferran Torres could have been forgiven for feeling the heat when he made his World Cup debut for Spain in Wednesday's game against Costa Rica.
As well as having to deal with the pressure of an expectant nation back home, Torres was playing in front of girlfriend Sira Martinez, who was watching on from the stands at Al Thumama Stadium.
But Martinez was not only there to cheer on Torres. She had also traveled to Qatar to support her dad, Spain manager Luis Enrique.
Enrique had made a joke about his daughter's relationship with his star striker during a press conference in Qatar earlier in the week.
Asked if there was a player in his team who was like an extension of himself on the pitch, Enrique replied with a smile: "That's very easy, it's Mr Ferran Torres. Otherwise, my daughter will come after me and chop off my head!"
Torres responded to Enrique's quip in a later press conference, saying. "I don't take it as added pressure, we know that the coach is a joker and he simply made a joke while he was live.
"I think the coach and I, we know how to differentiate between when it's family and when we are manager and player. I think we have to get on with it in a natural way, just that and we're getting along fine."
Spain were getting along fine in the first half of Wednesday's game after Dani Olmo and Marco Asensio had fired them into an early 2-0 lead.
Jordi Alba was then fouled by Oscar Duarte in the 30th minute, providing Torres with a golden chance to score from the penalty spot.
Torres kept his cool by sending goalkeeper Keylor Navas the wrong way to score his 14th international goal.
He celebrated by bending his fingers into the shape of an "S", for Sira, and pointing to his partner in the crowd.
Torres scored again after half-time and repeated the tribute to his girlfriend.
Spain went on to win the match 7-0, recording their biggest victory in World Cup history.
Martinez, like her father and boyfriend, is also a talented sportsperson.
She competes as a horse-rider in equestrian.
Torres and Martinez went public with their relationship back in January.