The penalty miss by Davis came on his 116th international appearance
Northern Ireland's slim hopes of qualifying automatically for the Euro 2020 finals ended as they drew 0-0 with the Netherlands in Belfast.
Captain Steven Davis blasted a first-half penalty over the bar in what may be manager Michael O'Neill's final home game in charge.
NI can still progress to next summer's tournament through the play-offs, for which O'Neill will remain at the helm.
The Dutch have reached the finals after earning the one point they needed.
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Reaction & as it happened
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Germany will also compete in next summer's finals as they moved top of Group C, two points ahead of the Dutch, with a 4-0 home win over Belarus, rendering Tuesday night's final fixtures between Germany and Northern Ireland and the Netherlands and Estonia meaningless in terms of qualification.
Northern Ireland's place in the play-offs was assured by virtue of Sweden's victory over Romania on Friday night, with an away tie against Bosnia the most likely scenario as it stands.
O'Neill's side faced the daunting task of having to beat the Dutch and the Germans by a cumulative total of at least four goals to finish in the top two, but they fell short in the first of those two challenges.
Stoke-bound O'Neill shows positivity
Cardiff winger Gavin Whyte was a dangerous threat for NI in the first half
The match was played against the backdrop of O'Neill having agreed to take over as manager of struggling Championship side Stoke City eight days ago, and the team and supporters were keen to mark what could potentially be the final home game of O'Neill's eight-year reign with a notable victory.
O'Neill will always be revered as the manager who took his country to their first-ever European Championships and a first major tournament finals for 30 years.
He could yet add to that legacy by securing a place at next year's tournament, although it remains unsure whether he would lead Northern Ireland to those finals should they make it through their play-off semi-final and final in four months' time.
Having seen his side suffer an agonising last-gasp defeat to the Dutch last month despite a spirited defensive display, O'Neill showed more positive intent by selecting an attacking line-up for this encounter.
Fit-again Jamal Lewis was restored to the side along with Cardiff city winger Gavin Whyte and Josh Magennis, who was rewarded for scoring three goals as a substitute during this campaign.
NI fail to make most of strong start
Josh Magennis, who was up against Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, was one of a number of NI players who had early chances
Northern Ireland came out of the blocks quickly, creating a series of good goalscoring chances in the early minutes as Paddy McNair and Whyte caused havoc on the right flank.
Goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen took too long to clear the ball and Corry Evans chased him down and blocked his clearance, but the ball did not land in time for the Blackburn midfielder to put the ball into the empty net.
Magennis glanced a header wide from one of a series of dangerous McNair crosses, while George Saville had a shot blocked.
The home side's best opportunity fell to skipper Davis, though, as he blasted his penalty over the bar just after the half-hour mark after Joel Veltman was adjudged to have handled as Saville had an effort on goal.
The Rangers midfielder was unable to add to his tally of 12 international goals on the night he became the UK's most capped midfielder, making his 116th appearance, surpassing the tally accumulated by David Beckham.
Koeman secures much-needed qualification
Steven Berghuis hit the crossbar for the Netherlands
At the media conference the day before the game, Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman issued what was perceived as a partial apology for his post-match comments following the game in Rotterdam when he branded Northern Ireland's tactics "outrageous" and "terrible to watch", saying he did not mean to disrespect his opponents.
The former midfielder, who replaced Dick Advocaat at the helm in February 2018, has successfully led his team to next year's finals, however, which is a relief for Dutch fans after they missed out on qualification for the 2016 European Championships in France and the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
The Netherlands were without Lyon striker Memphis Depay, who has scored six goals in this campaign, and Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, who were both ruled out through injury.
After weathering the early Northern Ireland storm, Steven Berghuis hit the woodwork and Ryan Babel and Quincy Promes both sent curling shots just wide of the target.
The visitors dominated possession in the second half but failed to create clear-cut chances as the Northern Ireland defence, with Craig Cathcart and Jonny Evans impressive, held firm.
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Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text
Line-ups
Northern Ireland
1Peacock-Farrell
14DallasBooked at 84mins
20Cathcart
5Evans
3LewisSubstituted forThompsonat 81'minutes
13EvansSubstituted forMcGinnat 70'minutes
8DavisBooked at 40mins
18Whyte
17McNair
6SavilleSubstituted forSmithat 58'minutes
21Magennis
Substitutes
2McLaughlin
4Flanagan
7McGinn
9Boyce
10Lafferty
11Ferguson
12McGovern
15Thompson
16Donnelly
19Smith
22Lavery
23Carson
Netherlands
1Cillessen
2VeltmanBooked at 30mins
3de Ligt
4van Dijk
17Blind
15de RoonBooked at 11minsSubstituted forPröpperat 36'minutes
21de Jong
10BerghuisSubstituted forde Jongat 65'minutes
20van de Beek
11Promes
9BabelSubstituted forAkéat 90'minutes
Substitutes
5Aké
6Pröpper
7Stengs
8Wijnaldum
12van Aanholt
13Zoet
14Weghorst
16Strootman
18Boadu
19de Jong
22Dumfries
23Bizot
Referee:
Szymon Marciniak
Match Stats
Home TeamNorthern IrelandAway TeamNetherlands
Possession
Home31%
Away69%
Shots
Home6
Away14
Shots on Target
Home0
Away3
Corners
Home2
Away3
Fouls
Home16
Away9
Live Text
Posted at
Match ends, Northern Ireland 0, Netherlands 0.
Full TimePosted at 90'+3'
Second Half ends, Northern Ireland 0, Netherlands 0.
Posted at 90'+2'
Foul by Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands).
Posted at 90'+2'
Josh Magennis (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 90'+1'
Offside, Northern Ireland. Patrick McNair tries a through ball, but Gavin Whyte is caught offside.
SubstitutionPosted at 90'
Substitution, Netherlands. Nathan Aké replaces Ryan Babel.
Posted at 88'
Corner, Northern Ireland. Conceded by Davy Pröpper.
Posted at 88'
Offside, Netherlands. Davy Pröpper tries a through ball, but Donny van de Beek is caught offside.
Posted at 88'
Attempt blocked. Davy Pröpper (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
BookingPosted at 84'
Stuart Dallas (Northern Ireland) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Posted at 84'
Quincy Promes (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 84'
Foul by Stuart Dallas (Northern Ireland).
Posted at 83'
Davy Pröpper (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 83'
Foul by Steven Davis (Northern Ireland).
Posted at 81'
Offside, Netherlands. Luuk de Jong tries a through ball, but Donny van de Beek is caught offside.
SubstitutionPosted at 81'
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Jordan Thompson replaces Jamal Lewis.
Posted at 78'
Attempt missed. Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Posted at 77'
Joël Veltman (Netherlands) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 77'
Foul by Niall McGinn (Northern Ireland).
Posted at 71'
Hand ball by Patrick McNair (Northern Ireland).
SubstitutionPosted at 70'
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Niall McGinn replaces Corry Evans.
Posted at 70'
Attempt missed. Luuk de Jong (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Joël Veltman.
Posted at 69'
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at 69'
Foul by Jamal Lewis (Northern Ireland).
Posted at 68'
Attempt saved. Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Donny van de Beek with a cross.
Posted at 68'
Attempt missed. Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box misses to the right. Assisted by Daley Blind with a cross following a corner.
Posted at 67'
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Craig Cathcart.
Posted at 66'
Offside, Netherlands. Quincy Promes tries a through ball, but Luuk de Jong is caught offside.
SubstitutionPosted at 65'
Substitution, Netherlands. Luuk de Jong replaces Steven Berghuis.
Posted at 64'
Ryan Babel (Netherlands) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 64'
Foul by Craig Cathcart (Northern Ireland).
Posted at 59'
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at 59'
Foul by Josh Magennis (Northern Ireland).
SubstitutionPosted at 58'
Substitution, Northern Ireland. Michael Smith replaces George Saville.
Posted at 56'
Attempt saved. Ryan Babel (Netherlands) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joël Veltman with a headed pass.
Posted at 52'
Attempt blocked. Davy Pröpper (Netherlands) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Donny van de Beek.
Posted at 50'
Foul by Donny van de Beek (Netherlands).
Posted at 50'
Stuart Dallas (Northern Ireland) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at 50'
Corner, Netherlands. Conceded by Stuart Dallas.
Posted at 49'
Hand ball by Jamal Lewis (Northern Ireland).
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Source: bbc.com