In the 1962–63 season, in only 21 appearances, Torres was crowned the competition's top scorer after netting 26 goals,[3] whilst also helping the league champions to the Taça de Portugal final.

It was also during this decade that he would be an instrumental figure as they reached three European Cup finals, alongside attacking partners José Augusto, Mário Coluna, Eusébio and António Simões.

[4] Torres left Benfica in 1971 at nearly 33 years of age, being involved in a deal that sent him and two teammates to Vitória de Setúbal and promising Vítor Baptista in the opposite direction.

He was selected for the 1966 FIFA World Cup in England – as Augusto, Coluna, Eusébio and Simões – where he played all the matches and scored three goals, including the 2–1 winner over the Soviet Union in the third-place playoff, through his main asset, a header.

Prior to the game in Stuttgart he uttered "Please allow me to dream", and his side eventually won it 1–0 thanks to a Carlos Manuel goal;[1] the finals in Mexico, however, would be marred by the Saltillo Affair, with Portugal being eliminated after the first round.