As Michael O'Neill and his players celebrated another heroic win in Belarus on Tuesday night, the curtain fell on the career of a Northern Ireland legend in the bowels of the Borisov Arena.
Aaron Hughes, capped 112 times by his country, has called time on a stellar career than spanned over two decades.
The veteran defender, who will be 40 in November, had been contemplating retirement for some time.
Indeed, it was O'Neill who encouraged Hughes to continue his international career back in October 2011.
It proved a shrewd move, with Hughes - who left Scottish Premiership club Hearts at the end of last season - going on to play in the Euro 2016 finals in France when Northern Ireland reached the knockout stages.
At Euro 2016 he became the first outfield Northern Irish player to earn 100 caps.
His last Northern Ireland appearance came in last summer's trip to Central America, where he played in friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica.
Hughes, who was emotional in the Northern Ireland dressing room following Tuesday night's game against Belarus, wasn't used in the Euro 2020 double-header which included Saturday's win over Estonia.
Hughes bows out of the game having made over 650 appearances for clubs including Newcastle United, Fulham and Aston Villa.
His 112 appearances currently make him the most capped outfield player in Northern Ireland's history, seven behind goalkeeper Pat Jennings.
Hughes made his international debut back in 1998 against Slovakia under then manager Lawrie McMenemy.
He first skippered his country in April, 2002 when Northern Ireland lost 5-0 to Spain at Windsor Park.
He scored one goal for Northern Ireland, against the Faroe Islands in August 2011.
The 39-year-old told his teammates in the dressing room of his decision to end a career in which he won 112 caps for his country, 48 of them as captain, and played at Euro 2016.
Though Hughes did not speak publicly, Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis - who is closing in on his former teammate's caps tally after playing in the 1-0 win in Borisov - said: "Aaron spoke to us in the dressing room after the game and he was a little bit emotional, which is understandable.
"He has been a huge player for us over many years, such a consistent performer, and he will be remembered as a proper legend."
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