Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Sweeter to share it with bro
JONNY EVANS says sharing a moment of football history with younger brother Corry in Lyon made Northern Ireland’s win over Ukraine all the “sweeter”.
As the first siblings to represent the country at a major tournament, both starred as the national team celebrated a first ever win at the European Championships.
“It was very special,” said Jonny. “For me, seeing Corry there and being able to share something like that with him makes it that bit sweeter.
“After the final whistle, my main memory is bumping into Corry on the pitch and it was a pretty emotional time.
“Corry and I usually share a room with Northern Ireland but at our base near Lyon we all had single“i rooms, even though they were side by side. knew how disappointed he was not to have played in the first game against Poland so for him to come into the team and to experience that win together was incredible.”
The two Evans brothers joined a select group of siblings who have represented their countries at the European Championships.
They joined the likes of Gary and Philip Neville (England), Brian and
Michael Laudrup (Denmark) and Ronald and Erwin Koeman who won Euro 88 with Holland.
“We’ve always been lucky as a family to have two brothers in the same profession,” said Jonny.
“There were a few media articles about us in the build-up to France but when you’re in the middle of the tournament you don’t fully realise the significance of it all.”