The rain had been pouring down in Basel ahead of kick-off, which left the pitch in terrible condition and made life difficult for both sets of players. Nevertheless, it was a lightning start to the game with both teams threatening in the opening minutes.
First, Chris Brunt tried his luck from 25 yards out and Yann Sommer had to be at full stretch to turn the powerful effort behind for a corner.
Moments later, Switzerland were inches away from extending their 1-0 aggregate lead, but Haris Seferovic somehow sent his header wide from six yards after an excellent cross from Xherdan Shaqiri.
The home side continued to push and Gareth McAuley was close to diverting a ball from Blerim Dzemaili into his own net, but luckily for the defender, the ball looped just over the crossbar.
Michael McGovern was called into action in the Northern Ireland goal twice in quick succession after the 25 minute mark. First he kept a low effort from Shaqiri out with his feet, before getting down well to deny Steven Zuber from close range, after he was threaded through by Seferovic.
The poor pitch started to take its toll and both teams were struggling to play the ball around and that affected the flow of the game towards the end of the first half.
The teams went in level at the break with the home side looking the more likely to break the deadlock in the second leg, but Northern Ireland certainly did not look incapable of levelling the tie.
Immediately after the break, Switzerland put pressure on the Northern Ireland defence and Aaron Hughes had to make a vital block as Zuber looked to get a shot away.
Michael O’Neill’s side knew they needed a goal to level the tie, and they came close after 54 minutes, when Jamie Ward crossed in for Connor Washington after a quick counter attack, but the striker’s looping header was just wide of the post.
The game was even and both sides looked equally likely to score the all-important goal in the second period.
Washington executed a superb turn on the touchline before pacing down the right and squaring for George Saville, but his tame effort was easily saved by Sommer.
With the conditions becoming increasingly difficult, both sides struggled to create any more guild-eged chances, but in the final stages the game opened up as Northern Ireland start to commit men forward to find the vital goal.
Denis Zakaria broke down the right and worked the ball to Seferovic in acres of space inside the area, and the striker should have put the tie to bed but blasted over the bar from close range.
Seferovic was swiftly replaced by Breel Embolo for the hosts, and the young forward caused immediate problems for a stretched Northern Ireland defence, forcing McGovern into a low save from a tight angle, before firing wide from the edge of the area.
In additional time, the away side threw everything they had at Switzerland and it looked like they had scored the goal to send the tie to extra-time but Ricardo Rodriguez made a heroic goal-line clearance from Jonny Evans’ header, after Sommer had flapped at a corner.
Switzerland held on in the final moments and the final whistle queued jubilous scenes at St. Jakob-Park as they booked their place at their fourth consecutive World Cup with a 1-0 aggregate victory.
Meanwhile, it’s heartbreak for Northern Ireland, who gave it everything in Basel, and will be particularly aggrieved with the dubious penalty in the first leg which ended up being enough to stop them going to their first World Cup since 1986.