Bookended by outings in opposition to Spain nearly 18 years aside, Jonny Evans’ Northern Eire profession has ended because it started.
Having confirmed his international retirement on Thursday, throughout greater than a century of caps in between these first and final outings for his nation, the 36-year-old Manchester United defender ensured that one of the crucial memorable debuts in Northern Eire’s historical past preceded one of many best careers within the inexperienced jersey.
It was Lawrie Sanchez who gave him his first style as a senior worldwide when Evans was an 18-year-old on mortgage at Belgian aspect Royal Antwerp.
Legend has it the supervisor was solely made conscious of the younger defender within the under-21s after his assistant Terry Gibson’s son seen him within the laptop recreation Championship Supervisor.
Contemporary off a 3-0 defeat by the hands of Iceland at Windsor Park, Sanchez wished contemporary faces for a coaching recreation however was so taken by Evans’ efficiency that he included him from the beginning solely days later in opposition to a aspect who within the years to come back would win the World Cup and a pair of European Championships.
Going in opposition to a ahead line consisting of David Villa, Fernando Torres and Raul would have been daunting for any defender – to take action in your worldwide debut, and out of place at left-back, felt a gargantuan process.
And but, whereas it was David Healy’s hat-trick within the 3-2 win that was destined to be proven time and time once more, how Evans noticed off the problem of three of the sport’s superstars down the Spanish proper flank would stick with Sanchez.
“All three of them knew there was this younger child taking part in his first recreation and have been in all probability pondering they might be capable of get one thing out of him,” Sanchez told BBC Sport NI in 2022.
“However they did not. Jonny seemed as if he had performed 100 video games for us at left-back.”
