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Manager Michael O'Neill felt had Northern Ireland beaten Germany at Windsor Park in World Cup qualifying on Monday night that they would have been in a "strong position to achieve something amazing".
It was not to be with Nick Woltemade's somewhat fortuitous goal the difference between the two sides in Belfast.
When the dust settles on a window during which his young side also beat Slovakia 2-0 on Friday, O'Neill will surely feel encouraged that such a possibility remains on the table as he seeks to take the side to the game's biggest stage for the first time in four decades.
For the second time in five weeks, Northern Ireland's players left the field against the four-time World Cup winners believing they could and perhaps should have taken something from the game.
In Cologne last month, it took until after the 70th minute before the visitors tired and quick-fire goals from Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz secured an unconvincing 3-1 win.
Back in Belfast on Monday night, it was Northern Ireland who finished the stronger of the sides, but they could not find an equaliser during a final 25 minutes played largely in Germany's third of the pitch.
The result ends any realistic chance of O'Neill's side topping Group A, but the performance, allied with wins in their other two matches to date, means they can have real belief that they can both make and then succeed in the play-offs.
A draw in next month's seemingly crunch fixture in Slovakia followed by a win over Luxembourg, provided as O'Neill put it "Germany take care of business at home when they play Slovakia" in the final matchday, would be enough for second place.
Even should that not come to pass, there remains a likely backdoor into the play-offs as an otherwise unqualified group winner from last year's Nations League, although that would potentially mean a considerably stronger opponent in an away semi-final.
"We've gained some momentum and picked up some good results," said defender Paddy McNair, one of two players in O'Neill's current squad who played for Northern Ireland in their last major tournament at Euro 2016.
"If I was the opposition, I would not like to face us in the play-offs.
"It's pretty hard to finish first now, but I think we have to get to Slovakia and get three points and you just never know what could happen going into the last game."
It was only really Germany's surprise loss to Slovakia in the opening round of fixtures that raised hopes of automatic qualification for the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada next summer.
Two-thirds of the way through the campaign, six points and two encouraging performances in defeat have offered plenty of positives.
The return of Daniel Ballard to the defence after injury in this window showed a player already benefitting from his brief exposure to the Premier League with Sunderland, while in a green shirt, Southampton midfielder Shea Charles continues to look like a top-flight player in waiting.
Against Slovakia on Friday night, Liverpool's Conor Bradley put in one of the best individual performances for a Northern Ireland side in recent years and his suspension for the game against Germany was keenly felt.
Bradley's link with Ethan Galbraith - who has started the past four games as an increasingly prominent member of the squad after a four-year wait between his second and third caps - was especially dangerous.
With Bradley able to return against Slovakia, it is a shame for Northern Ireland that the partnership will not get another run with Galbraith having picked up a second booking of the campaign himself against Germany.
For a side who had an average age of 25 years and 100 days against Germany, there continues to be signs of growth game on game and window on window.
"I think again it's been another really positive camp. I think the full campaign sort of kept building, made more strides going forward, and the atmosphere around the place is brilliant. To be a part of it is class," said midfielder Ali McCann.
"I think everyone's just really looking forward to coming back in and it's another massive game against Slovakia in November. We've shown that we can beat them, and I thought we were brilliant on Friday night.
"It's a place that we'll not fear going, but we know it's going to be a really tough game."
Galbraith's emergence as the obvious first-choice midfielder alongside the double-pivot of Charles and McCann gives the feeling that 10 of 11 names are inked on O'Neill's team sheet when everyone is fit. The only exception remains a number nine.
Northern Ireland are, of course, not alone in that boat.
Woltemade's winner, an attempted header from a corner that came off his shoulder, ended a 525-minute run going back to Tim Kleindienst's strike against Italy in March without a German centre-forward scoring at international level.
England's options behind Harry Kane have been a topic of conversation this month too. Oh what O'Neill would give for headaches such as those.
Jamie Reid, 31, started against Germany and was replaced by the recalled 35-year-old Josh Magennis at half-time. Both are playing their club football at League One level this season.
Callum Marshall, who made his West Ham debut this month but spent last year on loan at Huddersfield Town, came on in the 75th minute.
All three had half chances to equalise that they could not take on a night Northern Ireland drew a blank for the first time since a 0-0 draw with Belarus in October 2024.
Magennis, who has been a great servant for the side across an 84-cap career, noted that it's "not like" Northern Ireland to fail to score, but believes the feeling among the players after the final whistle is a sign of progress itself.
"I have been fortunate to be in this squad a long time and played the so-called 'bigger nations' and to come off the pitch with a team of that calibre and be genuinely disappointed to not get at least a draw shows how much we have come on as a squad," he said.
As the youthful panel continues to grow, finding out whether they are ready to produce that "something amazing" spoken of by O'Neill now must wait until March.
