Jeff Hendrick and Emil Krafth both helped their respective national teams register important World Cup qualifying victories on Saturday.
Hendrick - fresh from scoring his first Magpies goal of the season seven days earlier - played the full match as Republic of Ireland beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in Bacu.
It was a first competitive victory for coach Stephen Kenny, with West Bromwich Albion frontman Callum Robinson scoring twice and substitute Chiedozie Ogbene adding another late on.
Meanwhile Emil Krafth also completed 90 minutes as Sweden got a 3-0 win of their own, at home to Kosovo. The Newcastle man played at right-back and helped his side keep a clean sheet as they close in on qualifying for Qatar 2022.
Scotland kept their own hopes very much alive with a last-gasp 3-2 in against Israel at Hampden Park, with Ryan Fraser an unused substitute for the Tartan Army, while in Geneva, Jamal Lewis and Fabian Schär's national teams went head to head.
But Northern Ireland defender Lewis was harshly sent off for two bookable offences - the second for supposedly time-wasting over a throw-in in the 37th minute - before Switzerland's Schär came off the bench in the 53rd minute, with his side eventually winning 2-0.
On Friday, Oisín McEntee - currently on loan at Greenock Morton - was an unused substitute for Republic of Ireland's under-21s as they beat Luxembourg 2-0 in a European Under-21 Championship qualifier.