It did not take long for the hosts to fashion an early chance for Isaac Price, who saw a strike from distance saved.
Moments later, Jamal Lewis ballooned high and wide as he attempted to round off a superb counter-attack, while Jamie Donley had a goal ruled out for offside against Ethan Galbraith in the build-up.
At the other end, Christopher Martins came close to giving Jeff Strasser’s men - who had failed to score in six of their previous seven outings - a shock lead when he burst into the area, only to be denied by Conor Hazard.
That close shave should have served as a warning to the Green and White Army, but, much to the frustration of their home crowd, their performance was sloppy.
The visitors, growing in confidence, soon saw Mathias Olesen curl narrowly off target from outside the box, while Olivier Thill clattered harmlessly wide.
The momentum they had built up was shattered before half-time though, as VAR intervened to award a penalty as Martins clumsily kicked through Ciaron Brown millimetres inside the area, allowing Donley to fire Michael O’Neill’s side into the lead from the spot, sending the goalkeeper the wrong way in composed fashion.
The floodgates were expected to open from that point, but the Red Lions - whose last competitive win came in November 2023 - were in no mood to roll over. They continued to push and harry, with Thill again missing the target after the restart.
So concerned were Northern Ireland about the direction of travel that they made a string of substitutions to try and put the game to bed, but chances continued to remain few and far between.
Price had a late chance saved as he pounced on a poor pass, although only after Danel Sinani had fired over with a free-kick at the other end.
The result means Northern Ireland, who were already certain of a playoff spot and finishing third in Group A before kick off, have suffered just one defeat in nine on home soil, whereas Luxembourg completed their qualifying campaign with an unwanted 100% record, as they went through World Cup qualifying without picking up a single point for the first time in 20 years.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Dirk Carlson (Luxembourg)
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