As Bournemouth reflect on the missed chances which cost them at least a point at Leicester on Saturday, an international break offers a natural opportunity to take stock.
Far gone are the days when the Cherries might only provide the occasional under-21 international for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, with the majority of the squad now having won at least one full cap for their country.
Indeed, Adam Smith and Marcus Tavernier are the only two regular starters this season who are not full internationals, though both won England age-group recognition at under-21 or under-20 level before joining the Cherries.
Bournemouth have come agonisingly close on a couple of occasions this term to having 11 full internationals on the pitch at the same time for the first time in the club’s history, but even in these days of five permitted substitutions, there has always been at least one of Smith, Tavernier, England U21 midfielder Alex Scott, or Spain U21 defender Dean Huijsen on the field.
One player who may look on wistfully as his team-mates depart for international duty is Lewis Cook, who captained England to Under-20 World Cup success in 2017.
A year later, he came on as a substitute in a friendly against Italy, becoming the first player to win a full cap for the Three Lions while being a permanent Bournemouth player.
But since skippering another England team to success – the U21s at 2018’s Toulon Tournament – the international trail has gone cold, despite Cook being in the best form of his career since Andoni Iraola took over as Bournemouth boss last summer.
Even when two central midfielders pulled out of interim boss Lee Carsley’s current squad with injuries, the phone has not rung.
Supporters will feel aggrieved – as they did last season when Dominic Solanke was ignored despite a 20-goal campaign for the Cherries, only to earn an England recall after a modest start to the season with new club Tottenham.
However, one Bournemouth player who has been given an international recall is Justin Kluivert, back in the Netherlands squad more than six years after his only previous senior caps.
