Belgium's World Cup dream came to an agonising end in Al Rayyan this afternoon as their failure to convert cost them a place in the knockout stage.
Romelu Lukaku left the pitch in tears and was consoled by Thierry Henry at full-time after he hit the post and missed three huge chances against Croatia, despite only being introduced to the game at half-time.
A draw would have been enough had Canada defeated Morocco in the other game in Group F, but a 2-1 defeat sees the Red Devils finish third with four points and fail to make it out of the group for only the second time since 1986.
Here are the key talking points as Croatia secure their place in the round of 16.
Joško Gvardiol has the credentials to become a brilliant centre-back
Entering this winter's tournament people will have been aware of the name of Croatia's centre-back given his links to Chelsea over the summer, but his performance against Belgium, and in the tournament as a whole, will have made people sit up and take notice.
The 20-year-old showed incredible composure throughout the match, in particular during Belgium's late onslaught, and made a high number of tackles and interceptions to deal with the opposition's threat. In the first half, he showed great intelligence to deal with their front three and didn't give them a sniff at goal.
Gvardiol also showed great maturity in how he progressed with the ball out of defence, possessing great confidence to play in between the lines and a willingness to drive towards the oppositions area if there wasn't a passing option.
Croatia will be thankful to their centre-half, and if it wasn't for his last-ditch tackle to prevent Lukaku from latching onto a loose ball in the six-yard box during stoppage-time, Croatia would have been knocked out.
Croatia need to be more clinical in the latter stages
Zlatko Dalić will be counting his lucky stars after Belgium failed to capitalise on their chances as Croatia had chances themselves that they failed to convert.
Croatia never threatened in the first half, but there was a period between half-time and the hour mark in which they dominated and perhaps should've scored, with Thibaut Courtois making four saves during this spell but was never truly tested.
The Croatians had joy down the left side, with Borna Sosa and Ivan Perišić targeting Thomas Meunier, and they got into dangerous positions, but the final ball was lacking as it would go straight into the hands of Courtois with a lack of presence in the centre. Bruno Petković was brought on in the 64th-minute but the spell was over at this point.
If Croatia are to reach the heights of 2018 then they'll need to be more ruthless in front of goal and capitalise on these scenarios.
Lukaku's nightmare
The metaphorical 'disasterclass' is a fair description for Romelu Lukaku's performance this afternoon.
The 29-year-old was introduced at half-time to reinvigorate a Belgium attack severely lacking a presence, and to begin with, it was proving to be a positive decision as he helped bring Kevin De Bruyne to life and hit the inside of the post with a right-footed strike.
However, as De Bruyne's cutback was deflected over Dominik Livaković, and Lukaku's header sailed over an empty net soon after, his confidence was shot and his influence on the game continuously diminished.
Later in the game, the centre-forward had the opportunity to make amends as Meunier directed a volley towards him, but he couldn't adjust his feet in time and directed the ball wide from close range.
As the clock clicked towards the end of the 90, he had one last chance to score when Thorgan Hazard's cross evaded Livaković and Dejan Lovren. However, he wasn't anticipating it, as it his chest, directing the ball into the grateful of the goalkeeper.
It was an afternoon he will want to forget and his frustration showed as he went on to put his fist through a panel on the side of the bench.
Jérémy Doku: the face of Belgium's new generation?
In a game that Belgian football fans will want to bury deep into the historical archives, there was one shining light that will give them hope for the future.
Brought on in the 72nd-minute to replace Yannick Carassco, the 20-year-old winger offered more than his predecessor and was a constant threat on the left wing as Croatia struggled to contend with his electrifying speed and dribbling.
In the short period his was on, he completed three out of four dribbles, which included a brilliant mazy run into the area during the build-up to Lukaku's final miss.
His final pass has room for improvement but he was a positive sign for what Belgium fans can expect from the next generation of talent coming through.