Ivory Coast's 2-1 Last 32 defeat by Norway in Dallas on Tuesday brought their World Cup adventure to an agonising conclusion, but it shouldn't obscure the bigger picture.
The Elephants were eliminated after conceding a late Erling Haaland winner in a contest they believed could have gone either way, having already become the first Ivory Coast side to reach the World Cup knockouts.
While they are naturally disappointed after falling so close to the Last 16, there is every reason to believe this tournament marked the beginning - rather than the end - of something significant.
Here are five reasons why the Ivory Coast can still emerge as Africa's next great force despite their crushing late defeat in Dallas.
The World Cup's youngest squad has already overachieved
Perhaps the most compelling reason for optimism is the age profile of the squad, which began the tournament with an average age of 25.35 - the youngest of the entire 48-team field.
Many of the players should still be approaching their peak by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2030, but they demonstrated in North America that they weren't just here to gain experience, they were already here to compete.
Amad Diallo recognised both the achievement of having gone further than the nation's Golden Generation of Didier Drogba, the Toure brothers, Didier Zokora et al, but also the disappointment of not winning their first knockout game.
"It's both [pride and disappointment]," he acknowledged. "We achieved something the previous generation couldn't achieve, and we're the youngest team in this competition. So we're proud of what we've done."
This is a young team building foundations that could sustain success for years, and imagine how accomplished the likes of Diallo, Oumar Diakite, Elye Wahi, Bazoumana Toure, Yan Diomande, Ange-Yoan Bonny, Chris Inao Oulai, Guela Doue, Ousmane Diomande - all 23 or under - will be in four years' time.
The quality and depth of talent is exceptional
Even in defeat, the Ivory Coast looked like a team blessed with match-winner across the pitch.
Whether through established leaders through Franck Kessié, or the emerging stars led by Diallo, the squad possesses technical quality, athleticism and attacking flair that few African nations can currently match.
How many could replace injured first-choice rightback Wilfried Singo with as talented a replacement as Doue? Or leave the likes of Sebastien Haller, Wilfried Zaha and Jean-Philippe Krasso at home, and still be overflowing with attacking options?
Amad's disappointment is so acute because of the standards within the squad.
"There's huge disappointment because we know the quality we have," he said. "We have players who can make the difference at any moment, and we genuinely believed we could go much further.
"That's what hurts the most, but it's football. We'll learn from this tournament and come back stronger next time."
They may have broken new ground at this tournament, but the Elephants aren't content to rest on their laurels. It appears expectations have permanently shifted given the quality in this generation.
They'll be stronger for this World Cup experience
Ivory Coast's experience at the World Cup may have been shorter than they'd have hoped, but every single player will be richer for the experience of the last month.
For the entire squad, this was their maiden taste of football's biggest tournament, and the memories should prove valuable over the years to come.
Kessié acknowledged how important that education has been.
"It was a wonderful experience for us," he began. "For almost all of this squad, it was our first World Cup. We were honoured to be here, we enjoyed every moment, and today our journey comes to an end."
Kessié believes that the narrow defeats against Germany and Norway will have demonstrated to the Ivorians how close they were to going further in the tournament, while also highlighting the level of detail required to advance at this level.
"I wouldn't say much was missing," the captain added. "Maybe just a little more quality in our attacking play or with the final ball.
"We were less clinical that Norway in the situations that led to goals, we lacked composure in the decisive moments. At this level, especially in the knockout rounds, you pay immediately for those kind of mistakes."
Those are lessons that cannot be learned from qualifiers or friendlies, only from coming up against the likes of Haaland's Norway, in a World Cup knockout match, and seeing first-hand what it takes to prevail.
They have shattered long-standing psychological barriers
Before arriving in North America, Ivory Coast had never progressed beyond the World Cup group stage, with the feted Golden Generation consistently falling short when it mattered most.
Those failures - both in the World Cup and in the Africa Cup of Nations - steadily built up to become a heavier burden, and while the AFCON hoodoo was smashed in 2015, it's taken over a decade longer for the Elephants to finally reach the World Cup knockouts.
The burden has now disappeared.
Instead of carrying the weight of history, this young side will know enter future tournaments knowing that they have already broken through one of the country's biggest psychological barriers.
Kessié recognised the significance.
"When you look at today's match, it's difficult to say we've had a successful World Cup because I truly believe we could have achieved more," he revealed, "but if you look at the tournament as a whole, the assessment is positive. We broke the curse of never having made it beyond the group stage, and we managed to do that."
Diallo struck a similar balance.
"We're disappointed because we believed we could have gone further in the competition," he agreed, "but we're also proud of ourselves because we've achieved something that perhaps the previous generation (of Drogba) wasn't able to achieve."
Breaking historical hoodoos can often become the catalyst for future successes - after winning the 2015 AFCON, the Elephants only had to wait four more editions to win another - and once players prove something is possible, expectations cannot remain as they were before.
They've proven they belong among the world's top sides
Perhaps the biggest encouragement from the Ivory Coast's campaign wasn't simply reaching the knockouts, but how they competed against high-quality opponents.
They pushed Germany all the way in a narrow defeat - only losing in stoppage time - and matched Norway for long periods before only losing four minutes from the end in Dallas.
In their victory over Ecuador, they held their nerve against a stronger side, rode out the pressure, and struck a late winner to take all three points.
Kessié felt the margins were painfully small.
"There's enormous disappointment," he concluded. "After the match we put in, it leaves a very bitter taste because it was very evenly matched. We felt we could have gone further and progressed to the next round based on what we showed, but once again, we conceded because of small details, much like the game against Germany. That hurts, and leaves a very bitter feeling."
Diallo agreed that the contest could have easily swung the other way, with the Elephants in no way outclassed or out of their depth.
"I think it was a very even game, both teams created plenty of chances," he concluded. "They had opportunities in the first half and didn't score, and we had chances as well, but couldn't take them.
"In the end, they won and went through to the next round, but I'd say it was a 50-50 game."
This was not a team relying on luck or defensive resilience simply to survive. The Ivorians consistently looked capable of matching stronger opponents, technically, physically and tactically. The remaining step is to learn how to convert those evenly balanced matches into victories.
Given their youth, depth of talent, and invaluable World Cup education, there's every reason to believe those lessons will be absorbed.
Ivory Coast may have left Dallas with broken hearts, but also with the conviction that this generation belongs among football's elite, and that its greatest achievements surely lie ahead.
