Supporters weren't even back from the stadium before another nail was slammed into the Scotland World Cup coffin. South Africa had stunned South Korea, leaving the Koreans third on three points but with a better goal difference than Steve Clarke's side – a cruel twist for a Tartan Army still numb from the 3-0 defeat by Brazil.
Scotland's progression from Group C now hangs on multiple favours, with only three of the 12 groups completed. They sit seventh best among the third-placed teams, needing others to slip up. Fans may not know their fate until Saturday night. Unlikely? Absolutely. Impossible? Err... not quite.
“Scotland fans face agonising wait after 3-0 Brazil defeat leaves World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.”
Dave Watson, presenter on the No Scotland No Party podcast, had initially booked a flight home after the final. Now he plans to go to New York on Thursday to hang about until Scotland's fate is decided. "My dad's got a flight home on Friday," Callum from Linwood told BBC Scotland. "He's away back to work, but I chucked my job and sold my car to come here, so I'm not going home now. I'll stay and see what happens."
Spare a thought for Alan Horsburgh, who has a bundle of conundrums to work through. "I am going from Orlando to Reykjavik then home to Copenhagen where I live," he said. "I have a five-hour bus journey from Miami up to Orlando tomorrow and on that five-hour bus journey I will be looking at the eight million different permutations to try to work out if we're going to get through and where we might play. I would do one of two things which is decide to get my flight home and then go home or look at options to book for my wife to fly back out. I can get her with air miles some really cheap flights to Boston which would be absolutely perfect, not so perfect if we end up playing in Mexico City."
If Scotland do make it through, three possible destinations await: a return to Boston to face Group E winners Germany on Monday 29 June; Mexico in Mexico City on Wednesday 1 July; or the winner of Group I – France or Norway – at the New York/New Jersey Stadium on Tuesday 30 June. Ian Greenwell from Bathgate simply said: "We're home tomorrow but we'll be k…" – the sentence unfinished, much like this agonising wait.