The biggest indication of Morocco's footballing progression during this World Cup came off the field of play.
It wasn't them taking the lead against Brazil, it wasn't the improvement in the second half to oust Canada, nor Yassine Bounou's magnificent save to deny Crysencio Summerville in the penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands.
No, it was when Dutch boss Ronald Koeman released his team for that Round of 32 meeting in Monterrey. The Netherlands are a country - almost as much as any other - steeped in football tradition, with a proud on-field identity and character.
From Johan Cruyff, Rinus Michels and the finalists of 1974, to the various magnificent generations they've had since. The Dutch believe there is a right way of playing football, it is about technical excellence, collective intelligence, and attacking intent.
Netherlands, whether they're playing their tried-and-tested 4-3-3 formation, or a variant on the above, will seek to dominant possession, press with focus, interchange positions and - most importantly - be proactive rather than reactive.
Yet Koeman, weighing up his options against a Morocco team who had not emphatically set the world alight consistently throughout any match to this point, decided to abandon these long-standing, cherished traditions.
Instead, he withdrew a midfielder, added an extra defender, and ensured that the Dutch became the reactive side - attempting to anticipate what Morocco would do, and neutralise their threats - rather than impose their game on their opponents.
In fairness, he nearly got away with it - with the Dutch only eventually being defeated on penalties following a masterclass from Bounou - but during the match, they registered just under 30 percent of possession. They were utterly dominated by Morocco in terms of control, in terms of asserting a team's ambitions, in terms of taking the game to the opponents.
The Netherlands held on, but Achraf Hakimi twice hit the woodwork for Morocco, Bart Verbruggen pulled off some remarkable saves, and on a different day, the North Africans would have been out of sight long before spot kicks.
"If that goal hadn't gone in - the 1-1 in stoppage time - I'd be getting the praise, and now I'm being pretty much torn to shreds for picking five defenders," Koeman said after the match. This isn't the first time it's happened to an increasingly respected Atlas Lions team, and it won't be the last.
At the Nations Cup, they consistently dominated the ball and were allowed to impose themselves upon opponents.
At the World Cup, they similarly monopolised possession against Scotland and Haiti. However, the Netherlands - for their stature within the game, their footballing heritage and DNA, as well as their current standing in the FIFA rankings - represented a new level unlocked for the Atlas Lions.
Indeed, I would argue the match was unprecedented.
Has there ever been a fixture at the World Cup where an African team has dominated over 70-percent of the ball against genuine footballing royalty?
This may not be a truly vintage Netherlands team either, but midfielders Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), and Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), play for some of Europe's giants, and should have had enough about them to have at least gone toe to toe - technically, tactically - with Morocco in a World Cup knockout game.
Yet Koeman's fear of the way Mohamed Ouahbi has got this Morocco side ticking - despite their vulnerabilities against Haiti and inability to add a second against Scotland - was the greatest testament yet of how the Atlas Lions' standing in the world game has been transformed.
It was also clear vindication of the federation's risky decision to part ways with Walid Regragui in the aftermath of the AFCON and replace him with Ouahbi, whose career that point had been largely limited to youth football.
It was a gamble, a punt, but Morocco backed themselves that - from within - they could produce a coach who could get the best out of this technically gifted collection, tap into the production line of talent coming from the country's Mohammed VI Academy, and make the Atlas Lions a proactive rather than reactive outfit.
This is why their quarterfinal match against France on Thursday in Boston - a rematch of the semi final from Qatar four years ago - carries such a different dynamic from that famous semifinal clash in Al Khor.
During the Atlas Lions' run to the semis in Qatar, they were masters of control without possession, exceptional defensive organisation, collective discipline, emotional unity and explosive transitions.
Belgium, Spain, Portugal were all dispatched, before their run ran dry against France. However, Morocco's approach, their schema, their strategy for breaking the glass ceiling in Qatar was clear for all to see.
They were pragmatists, although in the likes of Sofiane Boufal and Hakim Ziyech they still had arguably more individualists, artists and creativity than the current collective. Ouahbi, in the few short months since the AFCON, has successfully overseen a Morocco evolution which means they arrive in the World Cup quarters in a different state than they would have done under Regragui.
At the Nations Cup, under the previous coach, they had no shortage of possession, but that would have been unlikely to have been the case had Ouahbi's predecessor still been at the helm.
Similarly, the personality of the possession as changed; at the AFCON, when Morocco had the ball, there was a lot of circulation, fullbacks were pressed high, and Morocco probed to try and find openings in low blocks.
For this World Cup, Ouahbi's tweaks have allowed Morocco to be more proactive and menacing. Azzedine Ounahi is key, having been moved into a more advanced central creative attacking role, being given license to roam and drag markers, rather than retaining a more fixed brief in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.
With Brahim Díaz also having a measure of freedom to tuck inside, and with Ismael Saibari - who never truly found his place under Regragui - excelling as a false nine, there's certainly a lot of movement and mobility in the final third, with Morocco overloading the central spaces and unpredictable in attack.
The arrival of the composed, smart, technically adroit Ayyoub Bouaddi has given Morocco an elite deeper creative prospect, capable of breaking the press, changing the dynamic of a move, while also winning midfield battles.
It means that things don't need to slow down with more of a destroyer - like Sofyan Amrabat - in here, while Ounahi isn't required to take on deeper creative duties.
Finally, the tempo has noticeably increased. Morocco have more sharp vertical combinations, go through the gears more quickly, take more risks, and are less likely to turn back and recycle the ball.
It worked against Brazil - to a point - against a conservative Netherlands side, and has seen them through to this point.
France won't adapt like Koeman tried to, while Morocco show no signs of modifying their approach despite the opponents' clout.
"We have a clear idea on how we want to play," Ouahbi told journalists on Wednesday. "This is how we have come this far, and how we'll go even further.
"It's important that our approach remains the same; the way we perform, prepare and analyse, whether we play a quarterfinal against France or a friendly against Burundi.
"The Morocco side is evolving completely - as is France - and both teams are even better [than they were in 2022]. It's normal, because these are two federations, two countries, that work very well.
"We're not surprised to see France's level has improved with regards to four years ago, but so did we."
Despite his confidence, Ouahbi must acknowledge that Morocco - beyond the tiredness of having had to travel such great distances during the World Cup - are a wounded animal heading into the quarter. They'll be of course missing Nayef Aguerd and Abde Ezzalzouli - both of whom were cut from the squad at the last minute after failing to return to fitness - while Saibari, their top scorer with three goals, has not recovered from a hamstring complaint.
It denies us the prospect of seeing this 'revenge' match played out with two full-strength sides, although Ouahbi is determined not to let any fitness setback dampen Morocco's new-found ambition.
"[It's not as though] what we've done up to now is great and the rest is a bonus, no," he concluded. "The bonus, the only bonus, is to win the World Cup.
"This won't be the same as 2022; we have a different team, we're facing a different France team than four years ago.
"We'll be confident with regards to what we've shown up to now, confident that we can show good things and win this match."
Morocco's evolution has carried them back to the latter stages of the World Cup, and back to France, but they're determined to stand up to the tournament favourites as equals, rather than underdogs.
Over to you, Ouahbi...