FERNANDO TORRES is sweating on his World Cup starting place.

The Liverpool striker has struggled for fitness and form in South Africa and was not included in the team that started against Germany in the semi-final.

Instead, manager Vicente Del Bosque drafted in Barcelona’s Pedro to support the in-form David Villa in attack.

Pedro admitted he was surprised to get the nod ahead of Torres, who was a second half substitute for Villa in the 1-0 win on Wednesday.

While Villa is in line for the golden boot in South Africa, Torres is yet to score and has admitted that he’s struggled to recover fully from knee surgery in April.

That ruled him out of the run-in to Liverpool’s season, including an emotional Europa League semi-final reunion with former club Atletico Madrid.

Now del Bosque must decide whether to stick with Pedro against Holland in Johannesburg tomorrow night or go with Torres, who scored the winning goal for Spain in the Euro 2008 final.

“I don’t know if he will be in the line-up,” said del Bosque.

“It was a difficult choice against Germany. Torres has been helping us all along. His work is important even if it is not noticed. He is good at occupying the centre-backs.

“I didn’t talk to him before I announced the line-up against Germany, but he is a very important part of the team. He is one of the key members of the squad and a lovely guy.”