While the UK basks in the glory of another successful sporting summer, it has been far from bright for England's international footballers.
The men's senior team dropped to a five-year low of 15th in the Fifa world rankings, while their junior counterparts endured painful group-stage exits at the European Under-21 Championship and the Under-20 World Cup.
And England's women followed suit as they failed to reach the knockout stages of Euro 2013.
However, one national side is aiming to restore England's wounded pride - and that is the men's beach soccer team.
Led by player-manager Terry Bowes, they have won their last two tournaments, recording seven straight competitive victories in the process.
Now the team, which includes a taxi driver, a boat builder and a marine painter, are in Spain preparing for the finale of the Euro Beach Soccer League, which begins on Thursday, knowing another success will propel them into the continent's top division.
"We're hoping to shine in a disappointing summer where England's international football teams have failed," says head of England Beach Soccer David Jones.
England are in Division B of the Euro Beach Soccer League (EBSL), alongside the likes of Czech Republic, Estonia and Hungary, but will be promoted to Division A if they win this week's Superfinal in Torredembarra, a coastal resort just south of Barcelona.
Eight teams are competing for the final place in the top tier and are split into two groups of four, playing each other once, with the respective group winners meeting in the final.
It is the first time England, who play Czech Republic, Hungary and Greece in their group, have qualified for the showpiece event and caps a dramatic turnaround in their fortunes.
After failing to qualify last year for the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup, which takes place in Tahiti next month, Bowes brought in some younger players and the new-look team have exceeded expectations in 2013.
In March, they beat Division A side Germany on penalties at the International Beach Soccer Cup in Thailand - "that is rare for any English team!" jokes Bowes - before winning their first tournament at the EBSL Regional Qualifier in France. That was followed by another trophy - the BSWW Sweden Cup - in Malmo last month.
"Beating Germany was a big result for us and it has given us momentum," says ex-Arsenal trainee Bowes, who played in the same Gunners youth and reserve teams as England left-back Ashley Cole. "Now the mood in the camp is pretty buoyant ahead of the Superfinal."
Not that Bowes or England are getting carried away. Despite their recent success, they are not considered one of the favourites to win in Spain and are generally seen as one of the lesser lights in the beach soccer world.
That is largely because they receive no financial assistance from the Football Association and, since forming in 2002, have been bankrolled by Jones and his predecessor John Hawkins, who stepped down as chief executive last year.
"It cost me about £15,000 to £20,000 a year to run the team," says Hawkins. "We got some of it back through sponsorship but a lot was just haemorrhaging."
England's resources are limited in comparison to the world's leading nations, who receive considerable financial backing from their respective football governing bodies.
Russia is one of the nations to have invested vast amounts of money into beach soccer, building three indoor pitches and paying for professional players from Brazil - the birthplace of the sport - to compete in their national league.
Even Switzerland - a landlocked country - has an indoor facility.
Countries including Azerbaijan, Nigeria and Estonia have used internationals from their 11-a-side squads in their beach soccer teams, while the Azerbaijan side were on a £10,000-a-man bonus to beat England in a crucial EBSL match.
Hawkins admits England, who do not have a regular stadium but are planning to build one in Lincolnshire resort Skegness, have never been able to offer "anything more than a milkshake" to their players.
"We are the poor relations to some nations. Some throw millions of pounds at it," he says.
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