IF Blackburn Rovers midfielder Corry Evans takes to the field at the HDI-Arena in Hannover tonight it will jog memories that will forever be etched in his mind.

It is coming up to four months since Northern Ireland went down 1-0 to Germany at the Parc des Princes in Paris to leave their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of Euro 2016 hanging in the balance.

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Turkey’s victory over Czech Republic ensured that Michael O’Neill’s heroic side did ultimately make it through to the last 16 where their remarkable journey was ended by Wales.

Tonight Northern Ireland face the reigning world champions again as they look to seal their place at a World Cup finals for the first time 1986.

Evans, who is tipped for a recall to O’Neill’s starting line-up after being an unused substitute in Saturday’s 4-0 home success over San Marino, said: “To go and play in a tournament of that size, in the stadiums we played at, and the teams we played against was great and something I’ll never forget.

“But now we’ve got to do it all over again and try and qualify for the World Cup, which is going to be very difficult because we’ve got Germany in our group, who we faced in the summer.

“We know it’s going to be a huge task to finish top of that group but we can go through the play-offs so we’ll try and get the second place and take it from there.”

Northern Ireland would have suffered a heavier defeat to Germany in the summer had it not been for the goalkeeper Michael McGovern.

And asked whether he had become a better player for the experience Evans said: “I think so. Maybe not technically and stuff like that but you learn certain things.

“The standard you’re playing against you know one lapse in concentration and you’ve conceded or one misplaced pass and they could be scoring.

“The concentration levels have to be very high at that level so from that point of view, yes.”

Evans played alongside his elder brother, West Brom centre-back Jonny, at the Euros.

In every game they were serenaded with the chant first sung about the Toure brothers.

But, in the household of the younger Evans, it is a song about another Northern Ireland player that continues to take top billing.

“It was that song and Will Grigg’s On Fire, which my daughter still sings to this day,” said Corry.

“Every time I’m in the car she’s like, ‘daddy, can you play Will Grigg’s On Fire by DJ Kenno’.

“It was great to hear the song about us from the fans. They were brilliant for us and they rightly got praise for their support.

“It was a great experience and one I will never forget.”

Evans will go into tonight’s match with Germany with praise ringing in his ears from Rovers boss Owen Coyle.

Coyle has been delighted by the 26-year-old’s form since returning from injury last month.

He said: “It was a huge frustration to us all that Corry came back from the Euros and he had that niggle.

“The important thing was to shut that down and get him to a place that when he did come back he was here for a period of time and not stop-start. Hopefully we’ve got him to that place now.

“I think he’s a wonderful player and I think he has real winning attributes and a real desire to do well for Blackburn Rovers and long may that continue.

“I think the players like having him in the team because they know the qualities that he brings. He’s a very good all-round player, there is no doubt about it.”