Northern Ireland: Corry Evans ‘can’t wait to get amongst’ Michael O’Neill’s young squad

A key player during O’Neill’s first spell in charge, this will be Evans’ first international outing since the return of the former Stoke boss.

With Northern Ireland having struggled for results in the early going of this second stint under their former midfielder, winning only against San Marino across O’Neill’s first nine games, the side are now unbeaten in three, all against opponents who qualified for this summer’s Euros.

After wins against Denmark and Scotland, with a draw against Romania sandwiched in between, Evans can see similarities with O’Neill’s first time in the post.

“When Michael first took over in his first spell, there was a period when we didn’t win for a lot of games. It was a new team, he was trying to get a squad together that could grow and compete.

“Look what we did, we qualified for a major finals in the Euros and we got to a World Cup play-off two years later.

“I think it’s probably a similar sort of experience now that he’s going through. He’s got a new sort of squad together and they have to grow and learn together.

“The last couple of games have shown glimpses of that and what could potentially be in the squad.”