There will be other enormous, career-defining opportunities for this blossoming Scotland side.
Just so long as the world as we know it has not been brutalised beyond all recognition over the next few years.
Heaven forbid the savagery Vladimir Putin has unleashed in Ukraine may yet reach a lot closer to home so our lives might be torn apart too, in a way which renders the outcome of any given football match all but irrelevant.
But it didn’t feel much like that last night. Not where these superhuman Ukrainians were concerned at any rate. Not even remotely.
While their brothers, fathers and mothers remain under merciless Russian bombardment, they arrived here as if this was their very own frontline. Their lonely chance to make a difference. And they refused to leave until the job was done and the watching world got a reminder of what glory to Ukraine looks like, in a sporting context at least.
In fact, when sub Artem Dovbyk raced clear to net their third goal in the dying seconds of injury time, the rest of his team-mates didn’t have enough energy left in their legs to join his celebrations in front of the joyous visiting fans.
They had given everything and the truth is their efforts were too monumental for Scotland to match, never mind overcome.
Goals before and after half-time had ripped this contest away from Steve Clarke ’s players, even though a late second-half salvage mission was scrambled together. Callum McGregor pulled one back just when it seemed Ukraine had no more left to give but Dovbyk proved otherwise with a clinical finish and gave his war-ravaged country a moment of pure joy.
The very least it deserves.
As ever there were puzzles for Clarke to solve even before he had the chance to gauge the ferocity of what was to be thrown at his team.
He opted to let youngster Aaron Hickey off the leash on the right flank and asked Liam Cooper to fill in on the left side of his central defence.
Boldly, Clarke also paired up Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes in attack which was a sign of Scotland’s intentions not to be rolled over on their own pitch. Human empathy only extends so far after all. And in these most exceptional of circumstances, it made it to kick-off.
First the Ukrainians emerged from the tunnel into late evening sunshine, draped to a man in their national flag. The emotion cranked up as they linked arms for the national anthem. And they were then given a rousing ovation from the home support – responding in kind.
But that was it. Seconds later they gathered in a huddle to the sounds of jeers all around.
It was game on now.
Whatever was left of this hands-across-the-water approach dissipated just five minutes in when Roman Yaremchuck cemented Billy Gilmour, leaving Scotland’s crown prince in a crumpled heap.
Soon after a second booking, this time for Ruslan Malinovski, for chopping down Dykes from behind with a nasty rake of the studs. And in between, Craig Gordon pulled off his first save of the night, fingering a blistering effort from Viktor Tatgankov over the top.
With the right-hand side of his defence buckling before his eyes, it would be the first of many.
Between them, young Hickey and Scott McTominay were struggling to cope with waves of yellow coming their way and Gordon needed to bail them out again in 16 minutes when he pulled off a stunning double save, first to stop a thumping effort from Andriy Yarmolenko and then to turn and scoop it up from his line before the departing West Ham man could gobble up the rebound.
It was breathless stuff. But Scotland got through it and then began to create some trouble of their own, with Andy Robertson making good ground and Dykes winning almost everything in the air. Grant Hanley headed over from a corner and John McGinn cracked one over the top.
The truth is, Scotland’s players were crumbling out there under this patriotic avalanche. So, although it took more than half an hour to arrive, when it finally came, the opening goal was no surprise at all.
What may have stunned Clarke was the ease with which it was given up as Robertson and Cooper allowed Yarmolenko free passage to gallop in between them onto a long, looping probe from Malinovski.
Neither man took responsibility to do anything about it but Yarmolenko didn’t hesitate, taking one touch to bring it down into his stride and then popping a perfect lob up over the advancing Gordon and back down into the keeper’s net.
Scotland were now in all manner of bother. Clarke chose to replace Dykes with Ryan Christie. But this was going to require more than just some minor tinkering with personnel.
And just three minutes after the restart the situation was even more dire as Oleksandr Karavev tossed a cross in from the right, McTominay and Hickey froze underneath it at the back post, and Yaremchuk powered above them both to thump home header.
It was just a microcosm of this match. For 41 million reasons, the scorer wanted it more than either of them.
There may have been 42 minutes left but this game – this chance of a lifetime – was already gone.
Yes, there was a flicker of hope when McGregor charged down keeper Georgiy Bushchan and very nearly tackled the ball into the back of his net but it flashed over the bar instead.
Clarke switched again, changing to a flat back four but it made no more of a difference other than to give off a whiff of desperation.
Yes, Scotland surged forward and a flurry of chances followed.
McGregor pulled one back in 79 minutes, pouncing on a weak Buschan punch to fire from the edge of the box though the keeper’s buttery gloves.
For a moment, it did seem as if Scotland might pull something out of thin air. But this miracle belonged to Ukraine.
And Dovbyk made sure of it just when it seemed they couldn’t possibly give any more.
