In the following years, Russia progressed quickly. In 2007, players such as Makarov, Shkarin and Bukhlitskiy debuted for the team. That year Russia became third at the Euro Beach Soccer Cup. At the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Russia finished ninth, and in the following year already sixth. Since Mikhail Likhachev's appointment as head coach in 2010, the team of Russia has become one of the most respected and successful national beach soccer teams in the world, most notably winning the 2011 and 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. One of the few exceptions was the insufficient result from the World Cup qualification tournament, where Russia was placed 5th at the end and so missed the opportunity to qualify for the 2017 World Cup.