It looks set to be a mixed week in the world of Moroccan football.
The North African nation missed out on hosting the 2026 World Cup after being beaten - comfortably - by the United bid in Wednesday's vote at the FIFA Congress.
While the outcome was foreseeable, the emphatic way in which Morocco lost the bid - 134 votes to 65 - should prompt an internal inquisition, with the nation even unable to monopolise the African vote.
However, as is one of the beauties of football, that the sporting calendar regularly offers near-immediate opportunities to get over heartbreak - either on the field or off it.
Morocco's grand plan to host the World Cup in eight years may have ended in disappointment, but Friday's showdown with Iran in Saint Petersburg offers the Atlas Lions the opportunity to make amends immediately.
It's been 20 years since the Atlas Lions were last at the Mundial, and back in 1998, you wouldn't have imagined that their absence would have been so extended - particularly considering that spirited showing in France.
Morocco, inspired by Mustapha Hadji, took four points on that occasion, but still fell short at the first hurdle, and may struggle to better that return this year after a tough first-round draw.
The presence of European giants Spain and Portugal in their group makes Morocco's opener against Iran essentially a must-win for both sides, with neither wanting to tighten the margins ahead of the challenges to come.
Despite the foreboding prognosis for the Atlas Lions, they're arguably the most complete African team in Russia, with Herve Renard having constructed a resolute, well organised unit who boast some of the continent's most creative players.
A defensive base, marshalled by Medhi Benatia, didn't concede a single goal in qualifying, and will be protected adroitly by the rugged Karim El Ahmadi and the deep-lying conductor Mbark Boussoufa.
Ahead of them, Hakim Ziyech has the potential to be the breakout star of the tournament, while Younes Belhanda is another delicious prospect in the final third and also comes off the back of an excellent season with Galatasaray.
The emergence of Ayoub El Kaabi may also complete the puzzle for this side, who haven't always been as 'complete' as they've appeared recently.
For the early portion of Renard's tenure, Morocco lacked a consistent centre-forward, with the Lions slumping out of the 2017 African Cup of Nations after a limp 1-0 defeat by Egypt in the quarter finals.
Excluding a 3-1 victory over a poor Togo side in Oyem, Morocco had drawn a blank against the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opener and only snuck past the Ivorians thanks to a fine individual effort from Rachid Alioui.
Khalid Boutaib looked set to be the 'solution' to get them through the World Cup, and scored four in qualification, but at 31, he's hardly a long-term answer.
The Yeni Malatyaspor man arguably also lacks the mobility to truly trouble the elite defensive units of Spain and Portugal, even though he's guaranteed to be a physical threat.
In this context, the emergence of El Kaabi has come at an opportune time for the Atlas Lions, and the 24-year-old has the potential to be the great African story of this summer's World Cup.
A year ago, the frontman was still playing in the second tier with Racing Casablanca, while he was still training as a carpenter four years ago and a spot in Morocco's World Cup squad would have appeared to have been a distant dream.
Yet his form for Renaissance Berkane prompted Jamal Sellami, coach of Morocco's African Nations Championship side, to give El Kaabi an opportunity at the tournament for home-based soil earlier this year.
El Kaabi was the star of the show, netting nine goals - a record for a single edition of the tournament - as the home-based Lions won the title in front of their own fans.
Unsurprisingly, Herve Renard - watching on from a perch behind the press box - was impressed, and duly invited El Kaabi to join the senior side in order to assess him alongside the cream of Morocco's diaspora.
There were doubts initially about whether the striker could prove himself to be more than just a one-note poacher, yet those concerns were distilled - to an extent at least - in which he netted various different types of goals and could have had a hatful in the final alone.
While his profile - as a locally produced product - makes him different from Renard's typical recruits, his work rate and attitude make him an ideal fit for this tenacious, disciplined, single-minded squad, and El Kaabi has taken to life as a senior international well.
He's netted twice during the pre-tournament friendlies, against Uzbekistan and Slovakia, and may now be in pole position to displace Boutaib as Morocco's first-choice striker against Iran.
These days, unknown talents who haven't yet been exposed to the broader masses, are increasingly hard to unearth at the World Cup, where all 736 players have been assessed and analysed in depth before a ball was even kicked in Russia.
Yet El Kaabi, following a meteoric and unorthodox rise, appears primed to buck the trend.
At the very least, he could help Morocco forget - albeit temporarily- about their World Cup 2026 failure when they face Iran in their opening Group B clash.