Northern Ireland's dreams of qualifying for their first World Cup came to an end as Portugal came from behind to beat Michael McArdle's side in Portimao.

Despite being 4-0 down from the first leg at Inver Park, Northern Ireland took the lead on the night when Kess Elmore netted on her first start before Carolina Santagio equalised in the 45th minute.

Jessica Silva edged Portugal ahead on the night when she chested home a cross on 74 minutes and Carole Costa added to their tally in the final 10 minutes from the penalty spot.

Portugal will now face Iceland, who hammered Croatia 9-0 on aggregate, in a two-game play-off for a place in Brazil next summer.

Portugal made a bright start to the first leg at Inver Park and scored three goals in the opening 30 minutes, but struggled to break down Northern Ireland's defence early in Portimao.

Both teams had half chances with Santiago's shot off target and Patricia Morais able to gather Elmore's effort after she had twisted and turned in the box to find space.

Northern Ireland took the lead on 30 minutes when Elmore took advantage of some slack defending from the home side and fired low into the bottom right-hand corner.

NI continued to push and nearly doubled their lead on the night when Fi Morgan headed Emily Cassap's cross just wide.

But Portugal would restore their four-goal advantage on the stroke of half-time when Santiago was gifted too much space in the box and steered home the rebound of her original shot, which had crashed off the right-hand post.

There was a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check with the away side believing the striker was offside, but the goal stood

It was a scrappy start to the second half with chances few and far between as NI continued to frustrate Portugal's attacking threat.

However, the home side took the lead on the night when substitute Telma Encarnacao's cross from the left found fellow change Silva, who chested home for her 22nd international goal.

Portugal's changes continued to make a difference with Andreia Norton's effort from range denied by the crossbar.

Northern Ireland's began to tire, and the home side were awarded a penalty in the 82nd minute after Ellie Mason was penalised for handling the ball.

Defender Costa made no mistake with the spot kick and found the bottom right-hand corner, to the delight of the home support.

Portugal displayed their clinical nature throughout the play-off and continued to push to extend their healthy lead until the final whistle but could not find another goal before the final whistle.

Northern Ireland's World Cup hopes may now be officially over, but it is certainly not all doom and gloom for this young side.

There are a number of positives from this tough play-off against Nations League A side Portugal, including four first international appearances.

The stand-out of the new faces was Sparta Prague forward Elmore, who was a surprise call-up ahead of this double header and has now shown why McArdle selected her.

The 27-year-old has played in France, the United States, Austria and the Czech Republic and her maturity in the final third as a result was evident.

Elmore displayed no fear and majority of times that Northern Ireland were able to push forward both in the second half at Inver Park and, in the away leg, she was heavily involved.

McArdle talked about how this match was key for the future, and one exciting prospect is how her partnership with Keri Halliday will develop.

In the altered 4-4-2 formation for the second leg, both players were able to find space and looked like they may be able to help NI make the breakthrough/

Northern Ireland's injury list is certainly lengthy and it is evident they are missing depth, but McArdle has shown during his short tenure in charge that he is able to find hidden gems and that certainly makes the next few months exciting from a Northern Ireland point of view.