For Egypt, the pain will come first. Pride may take a little longer.
This is the inherent cruelty of a game, a result, like this one; Egypt - playing in their first ever World Cup round of 16 game - were not swept aside by reigning champions Argentina, nor were they exposed by Lionel Messi... not until the final moments of this match.
They were 2-0 up with 11 minutes of normal time remaining, their goalkeeper inspired, their counter-attacks sharp, Mohamed Salah focused, and their supporters beginning to believe that they were watching the greatest result in the country's footballing history. For almost 80 minutes, Egypt had done so much right. Then Messi happened.
It hadn't been the case at the Africa Cup of Nations, but in Atlanta, Hossan Hassan had a clear and coherent strategy: defend deep, crowd central areas, frustrate Messi between the lines, then break quickly into the space left behind. It worked.
Yasser Ibrahim's 15th-minute goal gave Egypt the platform, and steadily, Argentina became increasingly anxious. Messi missed from the penalty spot, denied by the magnificent Mostafa Shoubir, whose first half saves gave the Pharaohs belief that it could be 'one of those nights'.
Shobeir wasn't merely busy; his defiance started changing the psychology of the match. As Argentina began to doubt, their shooting became less precise, Egypt's defenders threw themselves into blocks, Salah offered an outlet, Mostafa Zico buzzed between the lines.
Haissem Hassan, selected ahead of Omar Marmoush after his exciting cameo against Australia, was a revelation, and produced - alongside Shobeir - perhaps the best individual performance of an Egyptian player at the World Cup.
Just before the hour mark, Hassan dispossessed Lisandro Martínez, tore up field, evading several Argentina challenges with a magical dribble, before playing in Salah. The veteran advanced before feeding Zico to make it 2-0, leaving the world champs utterly stunned. It would have been a sublime counterattacking goal - one of the finest of the tournaments - but it wasn't to be, as the referee (informed by VAR) pulled the play back after spotting that Martinez's foot had been trodden on in the build-up to the goal.
On the Egyptian bench, there was incredulous disgust at the decision - given the nature of the foul and the amount of play that took place between Martinez was felled and the goal was scored. However, the incident did take place in the same phase of play and led directly to the goalscoring opportunity.
Nonetheless, Egypt's sense of injustice lingered, and seven minutes later, Egypt had their second anyway, as the outstanding Hassan set up Zico for 2-0. To them, it felt like poetic justice...Egypt's determination to establish a two-goal advantage against an Argentina team clearly on the ropes paying off. At this point, the reigning champions looked finished.
They'd been pushed to extra time by Cape Verde in the previous match, closely evading an all-time footballing humiliation, and were now being exposed once again. Their defense looked vulnerable, the midfield appeared stretched, the usual suspects were failing to keep control of their emotional energy, and Egypt's stout defending suggested a shock could truly be on the cards.
But surviving against Argentina is different from surviving against Messi.
Until the 79th minute, he'd been frustrated. Egypt had neutralised him, closed around him, anticipated his movements, stymied his rhythm. But then Lionel Scaloni shifted him wider, moved over to the left, and the pitch opened up. Hossam Hassan was slower to react.
From wide areas, Messi found the angles and the space he'd been denied centrally. His cross for Cristian Romero allowed Argentina to halve the deficit and change the air within the stadium.
Four minutes later, he'd drawn the sides level. In a moment that will replay in Egyptian minds for years to come, Messi struck a sweet half-volley, thundering in off Shobeir's crossbar to drag his country back into the tie and himself back from World Cup extinction.
79 minutes of frustration, then four minutes of magic.
Egypt were now caught between two stools; they'd seen and felt how vulnerable Argentina were, they'd been buoyed by their own ability to get the ball in the back of the net on three occasions. However, defensive resiliency is in this team's DNA, and there was the clear desire to retreat, to protect their box, to preserve tired legs, and to hold on for extra time.
Extra time never came.
Egypt pressed forward, Salah burst into the box only to be tackled by Julián Álvarez, pulled into unfamiliar duties. The referee waved play on, and Argentina swept forward. Lautaro Martínez lifted the ball to Enzo Fernández, who leapt above the Pharaohs backline and sent a fine header beyond the stranded Shobeir.
Relief for Argentina. They still had ten minutes of the eleven allocated for stoppage time to play, but they had retaken control. The natural order had been restored.
For Egypt, dismay gave way to fury.
It was a narrative that took us back to the AFCON final, where again that brooding sense of conspiracy in the air fuelled a furious atmosphere. Hossam Hassan raged, later claiming the World Cup was being directed towards Argentina, while supporters in red echoed his anger.
There was unhappiness with VAR, with inconsistency, with perceived bias. Someone coined the term 'VARgentina', Egyptian officials suggested the tournament was totally rigged, stolen by FIFA, while others - pointing to Senegal's own collapse against Belgium last week - suggested that Egypt only had themselves to blame for allowing a two-goal lead to slip so late.
The debate matters, because the lines between defeat and victory here felt so fine, whereas the consequences, the stakes, the historic resonance of defeat or victory were enormous. Egypt didn't merely lose, the sentiment was that something had been taken from them.
The disallowed goal, the complaints over the late Salah incident before Argentina's winner, the conviction that similar actions were not evaluated in the same way has tainted what should have been remembered purely as an epic.
But in the cold light of day, Egypt must face up to their failings.
They were 2-0 up, Argentina were on the ropes, Shobeir was inspired, Hassan was rampant, Zico decisive, Salah dangerous. As the minutes ticked down, they shouldn't have just been victims of destiny, but authors of a miracle that pulled just out of reach.
The pain is real, but - in time - the pride will be too.
Egypt showed that they belonged at this level. They held Belgium, advanced through the group, eliminated Australia on penalties, and then came within minutes of eliminating the holders. They neutralised Messi almost until the end, made Scaloni cry, and let Argentina feel what it's like to survive (another) almighty scare.
Tonight, for the Pharaohs, there will be pain. Tomorrow there will be pride. For the future? This night will be remembered as proof that, finally, Africa's most successful side has arrived on the world stage.