Ajax star Milik slotted in after being picked out by Jakub Blaszczykowski early in the second half.

Poland had dominated the first half but were thwarted by some superb defending by Michael O'Neill's men.

Northern Ireland did not manage to get a decent effort on target and must now regroup to play Ukraine on Thursday.

Poland deserved the three points, the first time they have won an opening match at a Euro finals, inflicting a first defeat in 13 games on their Group C opponents.

Northern Ireland endured an anxious opening and must have been relieved to get to the break still on level terms - they have now conceded just one first-half goal in their last 21 matches.

But the mood changed when Milik, scorer of 24 for his club last season, took one touch before finding the net with a left-foot shot.

Northern Ireland's best hope was a well-worked free-kick which ended with skipper Steven Davis just failing to get in his shot.

More than 10,000 green-shirted fans travelled to Nice full of an optimism fired by their team's qualification and 12-match unbeaten run.

But that fantastic vocal support failed to inspire Northern Ireland, who struggled badly in the opening exchanges, letting Poland dominate.

And despite the significance of the match for O'Neill's side, it will not be one they will look back on with much pleasure.

On a positive note, they finished the match much better than they had started it, with substitute Washington providing support for sole striker Lafferty, while they also produced a determined defensive display to shackle Robert Lewandowski, one of Europe's leading strikers.

Setback for manager O'Neill

O'Neill looked crestfallen at the final whistle as his side failed to take any points from their first game.

But his team had not managed to keep enough possession and did not create sufficient chances.

O'Neill decided not to go with the expected 3-5-2 formation, and started with five at the back, switching to four for the second half.

Now he must rally his tired players to take on Ukraine in their next match in Lyon on Thursday.

Realistically, Northern Ireland must win that one or face the prospect of having to beat world champions Germany in their final Group C fixture to have a chance of qualifying for the last 16.

That will mean a change of approach, and not letting their opponents dictate matters.

What they said

Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis, speaking to BBC Sport: "It's a disappointing evening. We have to braver on the ball but it's a real learning curve for us. We always knew it would be difficult but we weren't good enough."

Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty, speaking to BBC Sport: "I think we were overawed. That was not the team that has got us here, we have lacked a lot of that today and have come away with no points.

"We knew it would be tough, but I think the whole performance was not a Northern Ireland performance and on Thursday we will go and put it right."

(BBC)