Roberto Martinez heaped praise on Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke after his hat-trick fired Belgium to a 6-0 win over Gibraltar.
Palace’s club-record signing scored after just eight seconds to claim the quickest ever strike in a World Cup qualifier.
Former Everton boss Martinez admitted he was delighted with the 25-year-old’s contribution in the Algarve.
The 43-year-old said: “I wanted to use Christian - just because I have seen him very sharp. In training I have seen him when he was first called up and now.
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“When he was first called up, he was almost rushed. He had a really poor pre-season, he couldn't settle where he was. He was thinking about the next move.
“Now he is a completely different player. I have seen him strong I have seen him match fit. I wanted to see him today how he could play in a game where we were going to spend most of the time in their half.
“I wanted to see, movement, his hold up play. Not just how he would be in the box so I was pleased.”
Martinez added: “I was pleased with the manner that he started in the game, pleased with the contribution, but scoring a hat-trick and contributing the way that he did is going to be really good for him and he deserves that.”
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