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You'd think English football fans would be used to disappointment by now.
You'd think the heartache borne from 57 years of pain since that momentous victory in 1966 — all those missed penalties, last-gasp extra-time defeats and soul-crushing red cards — would have created enough of a resilience in England supporters that an entirely deserved defeat to a wonderful Spain side that got everything right on Sunday night in Sydney would be like water off a duck's back.
Except that's not quite true. Not when it comes to England's women's team.
The Lionesses are just different.
The European Championships win a year ago showed that there was a deviation from the norm.
There is a belief that success is somehow expected, not a quirk of fortune but the result of the processes that have been put in place.
A generational list of talented players playing for some of the biggest clubs in Europe and a burgeoning Women's Super League that has become the envy of the Women's footballing club scene helps, but Sarina Wiegman is at the heart of it.
Sunday night's 1-0 World Cup final defeat to Spain was the first in a competitive match England had suffered under their Dutch master and just the second in 39 games total.
That the defeat came in her second personal appearance in a World Cup final after the heartbreak of losing to the USA with The Netherlands in 2019 is the only inkling of cruel English fate rearing its head.
"Of course, it feels really bad now. Very, very disappointing," Wiegman told the BBC after the game.
"You go into the final and you want to give everything and then you lose it. That happens in sports too but what we have done, how we have shown ourselves, who we are, how we want to play as a team, overcoming so many challenges.
"I think we can be so proud of ourselves now, although it doesn't feel like it at the moment."
Runners-up at the World Cup is nothing to sniff at — England's women had never made the final before and this marks their best-ever finish at a major global tournament.
Coming so hot on the heels of the European Championship victory and Finalissima shows this England team are right where they need to be.
But there is still something nagging at the traditionally pessimistic English supporters' minds.
Because defeat, when it's the Lionesses, has become entirely unexpected.
Even in Australia at this World Cup, with senior players missing through injury and England, as a result, far from their best, wins have still come.
Case in point was a cagey 1-0 win against the Haitian minnows thanks to a retaken penalty, as was the come-from-behind triumph against Colombia in the quarterfinal.
The Round of 16 victory over Nigeria though was possibly the least English-like World Cup win of all time.
Not only was it done on penalties, but England simply never looked like losing once the full-time whistle blew after 120 minutes of tactical mastery from the lowly-ranked Nigerian opponents.
Confidence abounded. Everyone knew their role.
There was no need to break free from the shackles of fear that smother and restrict England's Three Lions so often — it simply did not occur to these players to think that way.
So even when Spain dominated the opening exchanges of the final at Stadium Australia, there was still a belief that somehow this England team would find a way to win.
Unchanged from the dominant victory over Australia in the semifinals, England were slow to get going but still managed to have the first two shots on goal.
Lauren Hemp even smashed a 16th-minute strike against the crossbar.
Had that gone in, even with England behind in almost every other facet of the match, perhaps the story of the final would have been different.
But, as it happened, Spain made its dominance count when Olga Carmona slid a powerful shot across Mary Earps and into the bottom corner, for her second goal in as many matches and only the third of her international career.
That came from one lapse, Lucy Bronze embarking on a tremendous run from right back into the centre of the field just as she has done countless times before in her 111-cap career.
This time though, she was dispossessed — and Spain's mastery was such that they capitalised immediately down that now under-staffed right side of England's defence with clear vision and crisp passing.
Bronze was distraught and it clearly affected her for the rest of the game, arguing with Spanish players and making uncharacteristically poor errors.
England might have considered themselves fortunate to only be one goal down at the break, with Earps saving well to deny Alba Redondo, and Salma Paralluelo hitting the post.
"They're a fantastic team. I think first half we weren't our best, second half, we definitely put the fire in," England captain Millie Bright told reporters.
That they did. Wiegman changed to a 4-3-3 and brought Lauren James — suspended since her red card against Nigeria — into the fray alongside speedster Chloe Kelly.
They made a difference and England began to impose themselves more on the game.
Yet their five second-half shots only produced one on target — from James no less — while Spain forced Earps into three more excellent stops — including from a Jenni Hermoso penalty.
"I think everyone has seen an incredible game, very open game, both teams who want to play football," Wiegman told the BBC.
"In the first half, we really struggled to have a press on the ball. We changed it in the second half back to 4-3-3 and I think we got momentum then.
"But then the energy went out of the game with the penalty and the injury to Alex [Greenwood].
"Spain were just a little bit better than we were today and they had a great tournament, so congrats for Spain."
The disappointment in finishing second, as well as the magnanimity in defeat, is evident.
But unlike most England defeats, this time it's not back to the drawing board, it's back to the process that has brought them such clear and deserved success.
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