Sadly, the World Cup adventure is over for Wales.
A first finals appearance in 64 years ended in heartbreak and disappointment, but also a smattering of pride for Rob Page's men. After all, this group of players have delivered an era of success well beyond the wildest dreams of most Wales fans.
As such, the thought of turning attention back to the bruising and unforgiving world of the Championship, perhaps seems a little deflating.
But the next few weeks are pivotal for Swansea City in their charge for a top-six finish under Russell Martin. While the gaze of the Jack Army has understandably been on events in Qatar, Martin and his backroom team have been busy preparing for the second half of the season, starting with next week's reunion with former club Norwich City.
Here's a quick rundown on what's been going on over the last couple of weeks.
Training camp
After a short break, the Swans met up briefly at Fairwood to further work on their conditioning, before spending the last week at a training camp in Scotland.
The squad, minus their international stars, have been put through their paces at Oriam, Scotland's national performance centre for sport at Heriot-Watt University's Riccarton campus in Edinburgh.
It's a facility used by the Scottish Rugby Union as well as the the Scottish FA. Heart of Midlothian also use the centre for first team and academy training.
It's been a chance for a number of players to sharpen up, and Martin has been pleased with what he's seen.
“It’s been very good so far,” he said. “We had a good week of training at Fairwood last week, and we were really pleased with the mentality the lads showed after a short break.
“They have come back with a willingness and appetite to work seriously hard, and we have been through a really honest analysis of where we are at and the season so far.
“We have looked at what has been good, what has not been so good and what we want and need to improve on.
“We have had lots of good feedback from the group when we have talked about those elements and I feel we are all in agreement.
“That has fed nicely into this week and the two games we have as we look to implement some stuff we have been working on."
Among those likely to benefit will be forward Jamie Paterson, who's been used sparingly so far this season as he works his way back from a groin injury. Having only made two starts in this campaign, Martin will be hoping the time spent in Scotland will ensure the 30-year-old can really hit the ground running later this month.
Beating Hearts
The Swans also played out a full 90 minutes against Scottish Premiership side Hearts in a behind-closed-doors-friendly last Tuesday.
Goals from Jay Fulton and Joel Piroe were enough to earn a 2-1 win, in what was a pleasing display.
Fulton opened the scoring after just 11 minutes after being set through by Paterson, before Piroe fired a low drive home just two minutes later.
The visitors then changed their line-up on the hour, with youngsters Harry Jones, Azeem Abdulai, Joel Cotterill and Ben Lloyd all getting valuable minutes under their belts.
Euan Henderson pulled one back for the hosts, but Swansea held on for well-deserved victory.
Swansea City: Steven Benda (Andy Fisher 60), Ryan Manning (Nathanael Obgeta 60), Jay Fulton (Joel Cotterill 60), Matt Grimes (captain) (Cameron Congreve 60), Jamie Paterson (Ben Lloyd 60), Brandon Cooper (Harry Jones 60), Joel Piroe (Liam Cullen 60), Luke Cundle (Matty Sorinola 60), Joel Latibeaudiere (Armstrong Oko-Flex 60), Nathan Wood (Azeem Abdulai 60), Kyle Naughton (Fin Stevens 60).
Heart of Midlothian: Zander Clark (Ross Stewart 46), Michael Smith (Aaron Darge 46), Stephen Kingsley (Adam Forrester 46), Craig Halkett (Lewis Neilson 46), Jorge Grant (Euan Henderson 46), Orestis Kiomourtzoglou (Bobby McLuckie 46), Lawrence Shankland Callum Sandilands 46), Alan Forrest (Connor Smith 46), Alex Cochrane (Aidan Denholm 46), Toby Sibbick (Finlay Pollock 46), Robert Snodgrass (Macaulay Tait 46).
Loanee latest
League One and Two has only just returned, with Morgan Whittaker the first Swans loanee to return to action on Friday night.
Whittaker has been a revelation for Plymouth this season, netting seven goals and racking up five assists in 24 games in all competitions before the World Cup break.
However, he was powerless to prevent his side from slipping to a 2-0 defeat at home to Port Vale, their first defeat for 108 days.
Kyle Joseph has been nursing a knock picked up against Shrewsbury Town last month, while Jordon Garrick's Lincoln City play their first game since the start of the World Cup on Saturday, when they travel to take on the Shews themselves.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Lewis Webb has temporarily returned from his loan spell at JD Cymru Premier side Aberystwyth Town after picking up an injury.
A possible transfer tussle
Given the January window is only round the corner, it's perhaps no surprise to see transfer gossip start to gather pace.
The rumour mill has already thrown up the name of non-league sensation Macaulay Langstaff as a possibility over the last few days.
After netting 32 goals for Gateshead in the National League North last season, the striker has bagged 18 goals in 20 games for Notts County, a record that's unsurprisingly earned him plenty of admirers.
The extent of Swansea's alleged interest isn't yet clear, but WalesOnline has already been told that rivals Cardiff City have taken a look at the 25-year-old, while reports elsewhere have suggested that Preston North End and Bristol City are among the other clubs keen.
It's understood a move to League One is more likely at this stage, given his lack of experience at Championship level, but if he continues his rich run of form it perhaps wouldn't be all that surprising if a second tier side took a chance on him.
Martin has already been drawing up plans for what he feels will be needed in January, and a number of names will likely be thrown around between now and the start of February.
An injury concern and what comes next
Swansea had originally planned to take on Rangers this weekend, but with the change of manager at Ibrox, they've been forced to look at other options at the last minute.
The Swans will now take on Dundee United at Tannadice on Saturday afternoon, and will be playing in front of fans for the first time since breaking up for the festivities in Qatar.
Preparations for Norwich will be stepped over the coming days, and there are a couple of potential concerns ahead of the clash with the Canaries. Joe Allen will surely be assessed following his exertions for Wales, after appearing to limp out of the defeat to England
The midfielder appeared to limp out of the defeat to the Three Lions, in what was his first start for two months, sparking concerns he may have aggravated his recent hamstring injury.
However, those worries have since been played down by the Swans boss.
"I watched him with immense pride last night and I am really pleased he came through it unscathed,” he told the BBC.
“He is fine. He is very tired – he probably played a bit longer than he would have liked to, we would have liked him to – but he has come through it and that’s the big positive for us.
“He will come back to us next week I think really ready to kick on.”
However, Allen isn't the only fitness concern. Striker Michael Obafemi was due to take his place on the bench for the Republic of Ireland in their recent friendly, but was forced to pull out amid suggestions of a possible hamstring injury.
His current condition isn't yet clear.
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