EPL

Man Utd defender Evans announces Northern Ireland retirement

By Sports Desk August 28, 2024

Northern Ireland captain Jonny Evans has announced his immediate retirement from international football.

Evans, 36, made his international debut in September 2006 against Spain and went on to make 107 appearances.

This is a record bettered only by Steve Davis, Pat Jennings and Aaron Hughes for Northern Ireland.

The Manchester United defender said: "Putting on the green shirt 107 times and representing the people of Northern Ireland has been my biggest honour."

Evans featured for Northern Ireland in all four of their matches at Euro 2016, their first major tournament in 30 years.

He said: "Without doubt the highlight of my international career has been the Euros in France 2016, reaching a major tournament and representing our wee country was a dream come true."

Evans' retirement comes seven months after record cap holder Davis called time on his professional career, with manager Michael O'Neill set to name his squad for next month’s Nations League games against Luxembourg and Bulgaria on Thursday.

Related items

  • David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line

    Trinidad and Tobago’s interim head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David were left ruing the Soca Warriors’s sub-par performances in the September window, which has their Concacaf Nations League, League A survival in the balance.

    The Soca Warriors, who lost their opening contest 0-4 away to Honduras, were heavily favoured to take three points off French Guiana in the following encounter at home, but they were instead held to a goalless stalemate.

    This was much to the disappointment of King, David, and the many spectators that flocked the Dwight Yorke Stadium, as that result left the Twin Island Republic sitting at the foot of Group B on a point. Jamaica (four points), Nicaragua (four points), Honduras (three points), Cuba (two points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.

    The Soca Warriors now face a must-win scenario in their next two fixtures against Cuba on October 10 and 14 to have a slim chance at making the top two for a quarterfinal berth, but more importantly to avoid relegation to League B.

    Having made the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Concacaf Nations League, David believes there is a need for individual and collective introspection as they need to raise the standard of their game.

    "It was a sad result for us. It's a draw, but it feels like a loss for us because three points would have put us in a good position in the group once again. Unfortunately, we didn't get going. We need to reset again because we have two important games coming up,” David said as he reflected on the outcome of their contest against French Guiana.

    "I think we as a team have to look at ourselves in the mirror and go back to the drawing board and look at the things that brought us success in the last campaign. I think we need to be humble and have that hunger to get good results,” he added.

    Alvin Jones echoed similar sentiments.

    "I think each and everyone has to look in the mirror and decide what they want—whether we want to play big football or we just want to compete. I think we have a lot of work to do mentally and physically. Each and every player,” he noted.

    Meanwhile, King, who was appointed ahead of the tournament following the dismissal of Angus Eve, felt his team could have done more to secure the three points against French Guiana.