Three Sunderland stars gained vital experience on the international stage this week.
And crucially for whoever replaces Jack Ross as the club's new manager, all three of Jon McLaughlin, Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin will return to Wearside unscathed.
Below we profile how Sunderland’s internationals got on over the past week.
Tom Flanagan and Conor McLaughlin (Northern Ireland)
Sunderland defenders Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan both played the full 90 minutes on Monday evening as Northern Ireland beat Czech Republic 3-2 in Prague.
The green-and-white army were 3-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from former Sunderland stars Paddy McNair (2) and Jonny Evans.
Czech Republic pulled two goals back in the second half but the pair were part of a Northern Ireland defence that held on for an impressive win against a side who had beaten England three days earlier.
Four days earlier, the pair watched on from the bench as Northern Ireland were beaten 3-1 by the Netherlands in Rotterdam.
Northern Ireland took a surprise lead at Feyenoord's De Kuip stadium through Josh Magennis' header but a brace from Memphis Depay and a Luuk de Jong strike ensured Ronald Koeman's side emerged with a vital three points.
Michael O'Neill's side are three points adrift of both the Netherlands and Germany in the race to qualify for EURO 2020. They face both sides in November and must win both games if they are to usurp either side into one of the top two qualifying places.
As things stand, they would be allocated one of the four Path B play-off spots offering them a second chance to secure EURO 2020 qualification in March - should they fail to qualify outright next month.
Jon McLaughlin (Scotland)
McLaughlin watched on from the bench on Thursday as Wigan Athletic goalkeeper David Marshall shipped four goals in Moscow, where Scotland were thrashed 4-0 by Russia.
The defeat ended Scotland's slim chances of qualifying for EURO 2020 outright and attention now turns towards their play-off hopes in March.
Scotland are guaranteed one of the four Path C play-off places and they kickstarted their preparation towards that on Sunday with a 6-0 win over San Marino.
McLaughlin won his second cap for Scotland as the Sunderland goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes at Hampden Park.
Although he had little to do, he will hope to for another opportunity against Cyprus and/or Kazakhstan next month as he looks to stake his claim to start in March's play-offs.
