It has been 12 years since Team GB last fielded a football squad at the Olympics, and with no sign of one being formed in the near future, we've taken a trip down memory lane to explore the career paths of those who made the squad.
The team progressed from the group stage as winners following an unbeaten run of three matches, before being knocked out on penalties by South Korea in Cardiff.
No Scottish or Northern Irish players were involved in the eighteen-man squad named by Stuart Pearce, sparking heated backlash from the National FA's of the respective countries. This reason, along with rivalry between the home nations, is why we still do not see Team GB represented in the Olympic football competition.
From the likes of legend Ryan Giggs, to failed wonder kids such as Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, here is Great Britain's last Olympic football team.
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Goalkeepers:
Jack Butland
Club at time: Birmingham City
Club now: Rangers
The Englishman went on to have a satisfactory career, although it is certainly safe to say that Butland failed to live up to his potential.
He became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to represent the Three Lions in August 2012 and went on to make a further nine appearances for the England senior team. He joined Stoke City in 2013, where he had loan stints at Barnsley, Leeds United and Derby County before he made the switch to Crystal Place in the Premier League.
He now plays for Scottish giants Rangers, after a loan spell at Manchester United, where he made zero appearances.
Jason Steele
Club at time: Middlesbrough
Club now: Brighton and Hove Albion
Jason Steele's only appearance for Team GB came in a pre-tournament friendly against Brazil, and he was the only member of the squad who failed to play a single minute during the Olympics.
After he left his boyhood club, he joined Blackburn Rovers and then Sunderland, where he will be remembered for his role in the Netflix documentary 'Sunderland 'Til I Die.' He lost his role as first-choice goalkeeper, ending the season third in the pecking order, although he did make a move to Premier League side Brighton, where he has made 53 appearances to date.
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Defenders:
Neil Taylor
Club at time: Swansea City
Club now: Retired (2022)
Taylor, who made appearances for Swansea, played all three group stage matches for Stuart Pearce's side. After leaving the Swans in 2017, he joined Aston Villa for four years before moving on to Middlesbrough, where he retired.
The former Wales international is currently assistant manager at both Gulf United, in the United Arab Emirates, and Wales under 21.
Ryan Bertrand
Club at time: Chelsea
Club now: Retired (2023)
The former Chelsea left back went on to make nineteen appearances for the England senior team, scoring one goal, before calling time on his career at Leicester City after they were relegated from the Premier League in 2023.
He was named in the 2014/15 PFA Team of the Year whilst at Southampton.
Steven Caulker
Club at time: Tottenham Hotspur
Club now: Free agent
Following his performances at the 2012 Olympics, he returned to North London and made his Tottenham debut during the 2012/13 season, but he would leave the club at the end of the season, joining Cardiff City on a permanent deal.
After a full season with the Welsh club, he transferred to Queens Park Rangers, where he 54 appearances amid loan spells with Southampton and Liverpool. From there, he went north of the border to Dundee, and then had a three-year stint in Turkey, where Caulker played for Alanyaspor, Fenerbahçe, Gaziantep and Faith Karagümruk.
He joined Wigan Athletic before making a move to Spain, as player-manager of Malaga City. Despite playing for Team GB and making one appearance for the senior England team, scoring a goal as well, he has made thirteen appearances, and counting, for Sierra Leone.
Craig Dawson
Club at time: West Bromwich Albion
Club now: Wolverhampton Wanderers
A UEFA Europa Conference League winner with West Ham, Craig Dawson has always been a solid, well-respected Premier League defender. Prior to his three-year stint with The Hammers, he spent a combined seven years with Watford and West Bromwich Albion.
Dawson has never made an appearance for the senior England side, and now plays his football with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
James Tomkins
Club at time: West Ham
Club now: Free agent
6'4" centre-half James Tomkins spent a further four years at West Ham prior to the conclusion of the 2012 London Olympics. The 35-year-old joined Crystal Palace eight years ago and has made 125 appearances, scoring ten goals, to date.
Micah Richards
Club at time: Manchester City
Club now: Retired (2019)
Micah Richards burst onto the scene and was named as one of three overage players in Great Britain's 2012 football squad. However, from this point, his career at the very top of the game began to rapidly fade away.
After a failed loan spell in Italy with Fiorentina, the defender left Manchester City in 2015, making a permanent switch to Aston Villa where he made a measly 26 appearances over four years before retiring.
Danny Rose
Club at time: Tottenham Hotspur
Club now: Retired (2022)
Another player whose career never really got going. Danny Rose had a stellar three years under Mauricio Pochettino, where he formed a formidable duo with Kyle Walker before starting in the UEFA Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
When Jose Mourinho became manager, he fell down the ranks at left back and joined Watford on a permanent deal after loan spells with The Hornets and Newcastle United. He got his final wish of playing in a Spurs shirt one more time before retiring - Rose pulled on the Lilywhite jersey for the under 21's against Enfield Town, in his final-ever game.
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Midfielders:
Tom Cleverley
Club at time: Manchester United
Club now: Retired (2023)
All thirteen of Tom Cleverley's England appearances came in the year after his participation in the Olympics. He left Manchester United in 2015, joining Everton where he spent two years before making the move to Watford.
He spent six years as a player with the Hertfordshire-based side before retiring, however, he has now become their Head Coach and will lead them into the upcoming season.
Joe Allen
Club at time: Swansea City
Club now: Swansea City
After a fine season and good Olympic campaign, Joe Allen earned a move from the Welsh outfit to Liverpool, where he spent four years. Injury struggles meant he was limited to just 91 appearances in his four years on Merseyside, before he moved to Stoke City.
There, he featured over 200 times in six years prior to completing a full circle and ending back up at boyhood club Swansea City, where he has been since 2022.
Ryan Giggs
Club at time: Manchester United
Club now: Retired (2014)
The legendary winger, who captained Team GB at the London Games, had just begun his penultimate season with Manchester United, where he won his final trophy in football in the season which followed the tournament.
He ended up in a player-manager role at the end of the 2013/14 season, where he called time on his playing career. After retiring, he spent two years as assistant manager to David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, before holding the position as manager of his nation, Wales, between 2018 and 2020.
Jack Cork
Club at time: Southampton
Club now: Burnley
An assured, hard-working infielder, Jack Cork spent four more years with Southampton, before moving on to pastures new. In 2015, he joined Swansea, where he lasted for two years before switching to South Wales for Lancashire.
Roughly five years on from his bout with Team GB, he made his one and only England senior team appearance, as he came off the bench in a 0-0 draw with Germany.
Aaron Ramsey
Club at time: Arsenal
Club now: Cardiff City
Another failed prospect who represented Great Britain in the 2012 Olympics. Aaron Ramsey stayed at Arsenal for seven more years before making the switch to Italian giants Juventus. Had injuries not had a detrimental effect on his career, who knows just how good the Welshman could have been.
He has since had a loan spell with Rangers and now plays his football back at his boyhood club where he came through the ranks - Cardiff City.
Scott Sinclair
Club at time: Swansea City
Club now: Bristol Rovers
The winger joined reigning Premier League champions Manchester City in the immediate aftermath of the 2012 Olympics, although he hardly saw the pitch and was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa, who we would end up joining permanently.
After a sole season in the Midlands, Scott Sinclair made the move to Celtic where he spent four years before returning to English football with Preston North End. He is currently plying his trade with League One outfit Bristol Rovers.
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Attackers:
Daniel Sturridge
Club at time: Chelsea
Club now: Retired (2022)
Arguably the biggest failed superstar from the Team GB squad who played at the 2012 Olympics in the English capital. Daniel Sturridge joined Liverpool six months on from the tournament, where he had an unreal 18 months, before injuries got the better of the striker.
He formed an immense partnership with Luis Suarez, and registered 68 goals and twenty assists in just 160 appearances for The Reds, who he left in 2019. From there, he joined Turkish side Trabzonspor before retiring in Australia with Perth Glory in 2022.
Craig Bellamy
Club at time: Liverpool
Club now: Retired (2014)
Craig Bellamy was in his second spell with Liverpool during the Olympics, however, once the tournament had finished he made a return to Cardiff City - the city where he was born and had previously spent time out on loan.
Two more years at the Welsh side rounded off his playing career and he then moved into coaching in 2016. Three years after, he became the under 21 manager at Anderlecht, and he was later appointed as assistant manager to former teammate Vincent Kompany with the senior team, although he stepped down in 2021 due to mental health issues.
Less than a year later, he rejoined forces with the Benign, joining him a Burnley as a first-team coach. He now holds the role of manager of the Welsh national team.
Marvin Sordell
Club at time: Bolton Wanderers
Club now: Retired (2019)
Marvin Sordell never really hit the ground running, despite a promising start to his career.
A loan move to Charlton Athletic followed his spell at Bolton Wanderers, before he joined Burnley, Colchester United, Coventry City and Burton Albion in permanent moves. The striker, who had previously played in the Premier League, ended his career with a loan spell at Northampton Town in 2019.
