Northern Irish coach seeks to diminish pressure on team

It was no more than Poland deserved.

For a team that started two wing-backs who ply their trade in England’s third tier, O’Neill conceded facing the likes of Milik, Robert Lewandowski and Grzegorz Krychowiak on such a grand stage may have been a shock to the system.

Northern Ireland then had goalkeeper Michael McGovern to thank in the 39th minute when he dived to his right to push away a rasping goalbound effort from Bartosz Kapustka from the edge of the area.

“There’s a sense of disappointment that we didn’t do as much with the ball as we could have done”, he said.

“It’s the European Championship and the best teams will compete here so there are no weak teams here in the tournament”, he added. We have got to win and play on the front foot.

“This has done a lot for the country and it is fantastic to see how many people are behind us from all sections of the community”.

Poland are favourites to progress from Group C along with Germany, while Northern Ireland are considered the underdogs of the group.

“We have to give them a system that gives us a chance and we did that”.

That changed only six minutes after the restart, as Poland laid siege to Northern Ireland’s goal. “At the end of the day, the game was 0-0 at halftime, it was 1-0 at the end”.

The team will probably have to get something out of its next match against Ukraine on Thursday to have any chance of making it into the round of 16. “We want to make a good start to the tournament”. “I thought Poland were excellent”.

Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill looks down during the Euro 2016 Group C soccer match between Poland and Northern Ireland at the Allianz Riviera stadium in Nice, France, Sunday, June 12, 2016.

Fighting broke out in the southern city of Nice the night before the European Championship match between Poland and Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s 12-game unbeaten run and first place in its qualifying group were eye-catching but those achievements were helped by a comparatively easy group in which ultimately Romania and Hungary proved to be the biggest threats.

“We have won nothing yet, nothing at all”, and this is why the team cannot “disrespect” or “underestimate” Northern Ireland. The fact clashes with Poland and Ukraine arrive before they face the Germans in Paris means their fate will likely be decided in the first two contests.