Republic of Ireland captain Nathan Collins attempted to look to the future in the immediate aftermath of his side's 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to Czechia, but admitted the weight of a crushed World Cup dream was a heavy burden.
Jan Kliment sent the home team into a play-off showdown against Denmark after Finn Azaz and Alan Browne had seen their efforts saved by Matej Kovar at Fortuna Arena.
Ireland were just four minutes from facing the Danes when Wolves defender Ladislav Krejci headed the hosts level on a night when Ireland had led 2-0 after just 23 minutes through Troy Parrott and a Kovar own goal.
"We all just had one dream of bringing Ireland to the World Cup and it's just taken away from you like that, it's a tough feeling," Collins told RTÉ Sport.
"I think it hurts right now. But in the future, I think this team has a lot about them.
"We just need to build on what we're building, but right now, it hurts a lot."
Collins and Jayson Molumby were both cruelly denied by the woodwork in Prague, with Kovar getting a decisive touch to the Ireland captain's shot.
"I thought it had a chance," the 24-year-old said of his effort. "I caught it nice. I think it's a decent save, to be fair.
"We started really well as a team. I thought we were really good throughout the game defensively. I thought we gave them more or less nothing.
"It's a tough one to take."
Ireland had other chances in the first half, but Ryan Manning's rash tug on Krejci and the penalty that made it 2-1 proved a turning point.
Not bringing a two-goal buffer to the dressing room at the break was a missed opportunity, Collins rued.
"They've a good team, they've good quality," he said of the opposition. "At this level, the players are so good, you can get back in.
"We probably could have done more and done better to get in at half-time 2-0 up.
"It's a tough one to take."
The heartbreak of the shootout will arguably be felt most acutely by Azaz and Browne.
Collins only had admiration for both players, but admitted that any words of comfort from their captain would likely ring empty.
"There's probably nothing you can say to them right now that's going to change anything for them," he said.
"From our point of view, anyone that takes a penalty is brave and has courage. You have to respect it.
"It will never be a fault, missing a peno. They had the bravery to put their country on their back and take a peno. That's more than anyone else can say."
The wins over Portugal and Hungary united the nation, and provided a symbiosis between country and team that Collins is eager to harness as a platform for future campaigns.
"If we can keep a connection like that and build together, we can become a really strong country, and that's what the dream is, and that's what we all want to do," he added.
