Eight Stoke City players were away on international duty with their respective countries over the international period, but there will be mixed emotions as they head back to the Potteries.

For some players it will be delight, but for others it will be disappointment.

Jack Butland starts for England

Jack Butland's performances for Stoke were rewarded after the goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes of England's final European Championships qualifier against Lithuania on Monday.

The 22-year-old became the first Stoke City player to start in a competitive fixture for England since Mark Chamberlain in 1984.

Butland will have been pleased to record a clean sheet in his first competitive match for the Three Lions, but he did not have a lot to do over the course of the match.

The Potters goalkeeper had just one opportunity to demonstrate his club form when he denied Lukas Spalvis in the first-half with a finger-tip save.

He will now be hoping to continue his form for his club and push Manchester City's Joe Hart for the England number one jersey.

Injury concerns for Shaqiri and Given

Goalkeeper Shay Given was carried off on a stretcher after injuring his knee taking a goal kick in Republic of Ireland's 1-0 win over Germany. The extent of his injury is still unknown nor the length of time he will face on the sidelines.

Winger Xherdan Shaqiri limped out of Switzerland's final training session ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifier with San Marino, but he played the first-half of their 1-0 win over Estonia on Monday night.

The Swiss international should be available for Stoke's Premier League clash against Swansea City on Monday night.

Walters, Given and Whelan secure play-off place

Jonathan Walters helped the Republic of Ireland secure a play-off place after playing 90 minutes in Ireland's historic 1-0 victory over Germany and he scored from the penalty spot in their 2-1 defeat to Poland.

However, Walters will miss the first leg of their play-off tie due to suspension.

Midfielder Glenn Whelan did not feature in the win over the world champions but he did play 83 minutes against Poland, before being replaced by striker Shane Long.

Arnautovic scores twice but disappointment for Afellay

Marko Arnautovic found the net with a brilliant solo run to help Group G winners Austria to a 3-2 comeback win over Montenegro and repeated the feat in the 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein on Monday, scoring his side's opener.

There was disappointment for Ibrahim Afellay and the Netherlands as they failed to qualify for a major tournament for the first time since the 2002 FIFA World Cup after missing out on a play-off place for next year's European Championships.

The former Barcelona winger was an unused substitute in his country's latest qualifying matches against Turkey and the Czech Republic. Afellay featured seven times across the qualifying stage, scoring once and recording two assists.

Cameron scores in USA defeat

Geoff Cameron found the net for the USA against Mexico, but the defender was unable to prevent his country falling to a 3-2 defeat after extra time in the CONCAF Cup match.

The result means that the USA miss out on a place to represent the CONCAF region at the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia.

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About the author
Adam Bailey
Everton editor, who also covers cycling and athletics.