Leicester City defender Jonny Evans is proud reaching 100 caps for Northern Ireland.

Evans will wear the captain's armband tonight against Greece in Athens on a landmark night as becomes only the fourth Northern Irishman to reach a century, following Pat Jennings, Aaron Hughes and Steven Davis.

“Sometimes when you are young you take things for granted," he said. “I probably went through a spell in my career where I came to the realisation of how big the games were and how much they meant to me.

“Obviously going to the Euros, qualifying for that and the culture that was created around that was probably the best experience I've had in football. It probably made me realise just how much playing for your country means."

It is 16 years since Evans, yet to make a senior appearance for Manchester United at the time, made his international debut playing out of position in the famous 3-2 win over Spain.

There were some difficult times to come as Northern Ireland went through some painful rebuilding years, but the rewards followed at Euro 2016.

“I probably look at my Northern Ireland career with some great highs and some lows," the Leicester defender added. “I've made mistakes myself, had suspensions and I've been sent off.

“You can't always look back with regret, but you do sort of think you'd do some things differently.

“But I am very proud of where I am today. It gives me even greater respect for Pat Jennings, Aaron Hughes and Steven Davis and for what they've achieved.

“I'm getting lots of accolades for reaching 100, but every cap Steven plays over 100 is even more impressive. He's on 139 and will hit 140 – he's a big inspiration for everyone."