By Coen Lammers in Doha
The All Whites players and their fans will take some time to get over the incredible disappointment of missing out on the Fifa World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Costa Rica rejoice alongside a dejected Bill Tuiloma in Doha. Photo: Photosport / Tom Kirkwood
The sense of disbelief radiated from the faces of the New Zealand players as they made their way back to the dressing room in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha after a gut-wrenching 0-1 defeat to Costa Rica in their intercontinental play-off.
The players spoke of their pride in dominating a country ranked 75 places above them, even when they went down to 10 men, and about the fact that this young squad is capable of so much more.
Unfortunately, they will have to wait another four years to show the world how good the current crop of Kiwi footballers is.
Much was said about what New Zealand can achieve in 2026 when the winner of Oceania gets direct entry into the Fifa World Cup, but coach Danny Hay kept hammering that nobody can predict the future and that his charges had to take their opportunity right here, right now, in Doha.
Instead the players and their die-hard supporters who travelled from all parts of the globe to the Middle East will wake up tomorrow and the coming months to the harsh realisation that they did not take their opportunity.
As captain Winston Reid summed it up, all the beautiful play and compliments mean nothing when you cannot finish off your chances to fulfil your dreams.
All White Elijah Just is among disappointed All Whites after the match. Photo: Photosport / Tom Kirkwood
One moment of inattention in the opening stages gave Costa Rica the only chance that decided the game, but instead of losing their heads, the young New Zealanders straightened their backs and put even more resolve into pinning Los Ticos back in their own half.
Wave after wave of white shirts streamed down on goalkeeper Keylor Navas who had to show all his international class to protect his goal.
The red wall of Costa Rica supporters slowly started losing their enthusiasm, as the easy victory for their heroes suddenly did not seem such a foregone conclusion.
Behind the Costa Rica goal, the few hundred "Flying Kiwis", as the main supporters group calls itself, were the ones making the noise, which reached hysterical levels when Chris Wood beat Navas to give the All Whites their just rewards for their dominance.
While Wood celebrated with the Kiwi fans, the wily Costa Ricans argued with referee Mohammed Abdulla that Matt Garbett had committed a foul in the build-up. The inexperienced referee from the UAE was persuaded to have another look at the video screen and then broke Kiwi hearts.
All Whites fans celebrate Chris Wood's goal before it was disallowed. Photo: Photosport / Tom Kirkwood
Yet again, the All Whites brushed off this major setback, stuck to their game plan and continued to create chances.
Hay brought on fresh legs in the second half but the changes failed to make a real impact, especially when Kosta Barbarouses lunged at his opponent to earn himself a red card.
The courageous Kiwis were now facing a monumental task to turn the tide, but seemed unfazed with what the footballing gods had thrown at them. New Zealand threw more people forward, and Costa Rica, who had reached the quarter-finals in the last two World Cups, could only resort to wasting time to run the clock down.
The All Whites mounted a wave of attacks against their highly rated opponents. Photo: Photosport / Power Sport Images / Simon Lloyd Holmes
All White goalkeeper Oli Sail made one routine save in the entire game, so struggled to come to grips with what just had played out. He said he was not surprised his team had been able to dominate a highly rated team like Costa Rica, and hoped the New Zealand fans could be proud of what the team had shown.
The All Whites' performance and their spirit will indeed have won them many new fans at home and abroad, among football fans and casual sport enthusiasts, like the New Zealand supporter walking out of the stunning Doha arena, sharing his genuine surprise at how good his national football team had become.
But that will be of little comfort to the class of 2022 who were on the verge of stunning the football world and creating New Zealand sporting folkore.
Instead, the drama in Doha will be filed under the-one-that-got-away tag, and this 'golden generation' will have to dust themselves off to show the world that New Zealand is becoming a footballing nation to be reckoned with.
Look at how the game unfolded with RNZ's updates: