Northern Ireland must open up against Ukraine, says defender Evans

The Irish lost 1-0 to Poland in Sunday's Group C clash, which ended a 12-match unbeaten run going into the tournament, with some critics arguing that they played too defensively.

(Reuters)

Evans, who was part of a three-man central defence against Poland, said manager Michael O'Neill was looking at a different approach against Ukraine in Lyon.

"Michael has hinted that we might try different things against different teams, especially Ukraine who are very good from the wide areas," the 28-year-old told British media.

"I think we'll learn from (the Poland game) the fact that maybe at times we need to try to play a bit more.

"(Andriy) Yarmolenko is probably their most dangerous player."

Northern Ireland finish the group stage on June 21 against world champions Germany, who top the section after starting with a 2-0 win over Ukraine.

(Reporting by Nivedita Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing byb Ken Ferris)