Joao Palhinha is happy with the start to his Fulham career.

The Portugal international joined from Sporting CP this summer.

"I have a dream to play in the World Cup, so this is one of the most important periods in my life," he told the Daily Mail.

"WC, a new club, my son has been born. Everything happens at the same time! But it's exciting, I've been working hard for this for many years.

"You can actually be tackled here, and I love it. That was one of the main things behind my decision to come here - the style of play.

"In my head, I just want to play with intensity. That's why I like the league. In every match, everyone wants to play, but with aggression and fairness. That's one of the good things. In Portugal I felt I could not be tackled. Sometimes it was difficult. Every 'touch' was a yellow card. Here it is completely different."