A goal assist from young Manchester City star of the future Vladimir Weiss set group leaders Slovakia on the way to victory and mean Northern Ireland's qualifying fate is now out of their hands.
Nigel Worthington's side were in second place before the match but have now been over-taken by Slovenia who thrashed Poland 3-0.
Slovenia will fancy their chances of retaining the runners-up spot, which should be enough to secure a World Cup play-off spot, as they have a game in hand over Northern Ireland.
A boisterous Belfast crowd of 13,500 packed inside Windsor Park hoping to witness their team take a giant stride towards qualifying for their first World Cup since the Pat Jennings/Norman Whiteside era of 1986.
The home side played well enough in the first 15 minutes to forget the danger posed by City's 19-year-old wonder kid Weiss.
But Weiss issued a stark reminder of the threat he poses by easily beating marker Jonny Evans of Manchester United to set up Stanislav Sestak for Slovakia's opening goal.
Playing at a high tempo, David Healey of Sunderland and Martin Patterson of Burnley both had chances to equalise for the hosts.
Healey got on the end of a first-half free kick to power a shot just wide, while Patterson was denied by a smart save after some sloppy defending from Liverpool's Martin Skrtl.
Slovakia needed a substitution to steady their nerves, so it was a surprise when the man they sent on, Filip Holosko, made it 2-0 with a powerful effort after 65 minutes of play.
It was a goal which could well have ended the Ulster men's dreams of South Africa.
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