CHRIS Brunt said he was "gutted" after Northern Ireland missed out on qualifying for next summer's World Cup.
Michael O'Neill's side couldn't overturn their 1-0 first leg defeat as they played out a goalless draw in Switzerland on Sunday evening.
Speaking after the match, Brunt said: “In the first leg we didn’t play very well but we played some good stuff tonight.
“We deserved to take something out of the game but obviously it wasn’t enough.
“I think we can hold our heads up and be proud of what we tried to do, but we just came up a little bit short.
“Building on the back of the Euros it was going to be difficult, and to be fair to the lads we all stepped up and had another go.
“With Germany in our group realistically a play-off place was always what we were playing for, and to lose that over two legs against a good side is difficult to take."
Though Northern Ireland have missed out on a place in Russia, James McClean's Republic of Ireland still have a chance of getting there.
They take on Denmark in the second leg of their play-off in Dublin tomorrow night following a 0-0 draw on Saturday.