'Interesting' Portugal striker 'different' to Cristiano Ronaldo singled out for praise by Roberto Martinez after Nations League draw with Croatia

Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia in their final game of the Nations League group stage as they qualified for the knockout stage by topping their group. Chelsea forward Joao Felix handed his team the lead in the 33rd minute, but Croatia came back strongly in the second half as Manchester City star Josko Gvardiol netted the equaliser in the 65th minute to ensure his team made it to the next round.

Ahead of the game on Monday, manager Roberto Martinez released three star players, Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes from the squad as he wanted to give an opportunity to young players in the dead rubber clash. After the match, the Spanish coach heaped praises on the newcomers in the team and singled out Wolves loanee Fabio Silva.

Speaking to reporters, the former Everton boss said: "But the debuts of Nuno Tavares against Poland and Tomás Araújo, very different players. I really liked Tomás Araújo's personality. I think he's an incredible player. Starting from the beginning and performing like that shows his personality and quality for the future. Also, Tiago Djaló, playing in a different position and at a difficult moment in the game, but I really liked it.

"Fabio Silva is the same as we've already talked about, he's a different forward, he has interesting skills - Gonçalo Ramos, Ronaldo and Jota are different. I really enjoyed the training camp, it's not easy to use a lot of players and maintain the same level. We saw Portugal in the second half against Poland and the first half today. Players like João Félix and José Sá also showed why they are important."

The Seleccao will be back next year with the Nations League quarter-final first-leg clashes set to take place on March 20. They will face one of Italy, Netherlands and Denmark in the knockout stage.