David Beckham was visibly shattered after England lost out in the race to host the 2018 World Cup.
Russia will stage the tournament after winning Thursday's vote in the second round, while England - despite an expensive and impressive bid campaign - were knocked out in the first round with just a measly two votes, one of them coming from their own Football Association's former chairman Geoff Thompson.
LA Galaxy midfielder and former England captain Beckham acted as vice-president of England's bid team and was part of the 'Three Lions' group, along with British Prime Minster David Cameron and Prince William, who lobbied so hard for England's cause this week. Indeed, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder gave a moving speech as part of England's final presentation on Thursday morning.
But it was all to no avail as the bid crashed miserably, with Beckham quoted as saying in the aftermath: "I think the bid team have done everything possible, we couldn't have got a better bid.
He added on BBC radio: "We're disappointed but we wish Qatar (who were named as the somewhat surprising 2022 hosts) and Russia the very best, they're two great countries and I'm sure they'll make Fifa very proud.
"It's obviously hard to not come away with the World Cup in 2018 but a lot of congratulations have to go to the team, a lot of hard work has been done.
"It would be great to bring the World Cup to our country because we've not had it for so many years but it's a process I've enjoyed."
But for every loser there is a winner and Russia captain Andriy Arshavin has hailed the confirmation of his country as the hosts in eight years' time.
The Arsenal man was quoted by the Fifa website as saying: "I'm very happy, because this is a huge event. None of us yet understands what it means for the country. Probably a lot of us will only understand after 2018.
"It is going to have a huge impact in sports, in our economy, in the development of the country and even in politics. The influence of football in the world is huge. You can see that even today with the presentations and those who were making them.
"They were politicians or athletes, like David Beckham. He is not only a football player. He is bigger than football; he is a phenomenon. Football is bigger than just a sport, that's why it is so strongly influencing the world.
"It's going to be the best World Cup in history because Russians are so hospitable. I hope it will change the way that Europe and the world view Russia - and hopefully change the opinion of Russian people too."