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Torres’ powerful finish from 10 yards opened the scoring inside four minutes.

David Silva’s composed effort just after the restart doubled the advantage, Torres poked in a third after a quick break and substitute Cesc Fabregas drove in a fourth.

The victory was enough to move Spain above Croatia, who they face on Monday, at the top of Group C.

The Republic’s performance in their first major tournament in a decade can be summed up by the fact that, including their 3-1 defeat to Croatia, they have conceded a goal inside four minutes at the start of each half they have played.

Before their sobering loss to Croatia, the Irish had never conceded three goals in a major competition but they have now done so twice in five days on the way to losing consecutive matches in a major tournament for the first time.

For Spain, who drew their opening game 1-1 with Italy, this was a ruthless reminder of their ambition to become the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments, 24 hours after Germany drew the focus with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.