Ah, the international break. File the World Cup qualifiers and friendlies under the same interest level as sleep.

Despite the break in the domestic schedule being treated with disdain, it does present us with a chance to assess some of the most exciting young players on a bigger stage.

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Away from their comfort zone, away from their club team-mates (for the most part, anyway) and away from home, only the very best players adapt under pressure and prove their worth on the big stage.

Here are five players worth keeping a close eye on across this international break. Can they convert their electrifying club form to the international stage?

Kylian Mbappé

Kylian Mbappé Lottin is the name on everybody’s lips after the 18-year-old’s scintillating performances for Monaco against Manchester City in the Champions League.

The Monaco forward sliced through Pep Guardiola’s men at will, and was involved in most of the action over both legs of the Champions League last-16 tie.

And he has been a crucial part of one of the highest-scoring attacks in Europe, with 17 goals in all competitions from just 29 appearances.

Will he be able to carry that form into France’s qualifier against Luxembourg and friendly against Spain? It will be tough, and if he plays against Spain, he will be facing a much more stern defence than that offered by John Stones and co.

But his bare pace will frighten the likes of Sergio Ramos and he also has the uncanny mark of a poacher; he is always in the right place at the right time.

The Frenchman was called-up for his national team earlier this month – after his performance in Manchester – and it will be intriguing to see if he can seamlessly transition into the same line-up as Antoine Griezmann, Ousman Dembele and Dimitri Payet.

Andrea Belotti

The Italian forward was highly sought after in January, with Arsenal and Chelsea linked with a move for the 23-year-old.

Belotti has astronomically increased his value this season. Having signed for Torino in 2015 as a youngster from Palermo, he scored 12 goals in 26 appearances last season.

But this season he has already bagged 27 goals in 32 appearances for club and country – including three goals for Italy against Liechtenstein and Macedonia.

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I know, I know. But you can only beat what is in front of you and on those particular occasions, Belotti got the job done.

So, perennial ‘we nearly signed him’ men Arsenal had a bid of £56m for the prolific forward rejected in January. He’ll be worth one hell of a lot more if he can maintain that form for Italy.

Fresh off the back of an eight-minute hat-trick in Serie A, Belotti is on top of the world and will be looking to add to his tally against Albania (qualifier) and Netherlands (friendly).

Timo Werner

RB Leipzig. The enemies of German football, according to Bayern Munich. You couldn’t possibly imagine why the Bavarian giants haven’t been pleased with Leipzig’s rise to second in the Bundesliga.

The Red Bull-owned club ran Munich close in the race for the title for a while, but Carlo Ancelotti’s men have too many stars to be truly knocked off top spot.

Leipzig’s remarkable form, though, has been driven in-part by German forward Timo Werner. The 21-year-old has bagged a nifty 14 goals in 24 appearances.

That form has, obviously, attracted attention from a plethora of clubs across Europe, with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool linked, as well as – guess who? – Munich.

And Werner will have his work cut out, to be fair, to out-do Thomas Muller and Andre Schurrle, but he has the promise to be one of Germany’s next best youngster.

Leroy Sane

Surprise, surprise. Footballing powerhouse Germany producing another exciting young player. Who would have thought it?

Leroy Sane has been much more in the public eye of England fans having joined Manchester City last summer in Pep Guardiola’s first splurge in charge of the club.

And having splashed £37m on Sane, Guardiola’s careful early management of the 21-year-old enabled him to burst into the first team when he scored in consecutive matches against Arsenal, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.

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He now looks to be a lot closer to the prospect he promised to be when he joined City, and for a fleeting moment with Gabriel Jesus, struck up a terrifying partnership – until the latter’s season was prematurely ended by a broken metatarsal.

But Sane is in the embryonic stages of his Germany career, and if he can keep up the form he has shown since December in the Premier League, he will undoubtedly be set for great things with Germany.

Paulo Dybala

Ok, this isn’t really a new one, as he’s played six times for Argentina, but Dybala has been in terrifying form this season.

Having signed for Italian giants Juventus in the summer of 2015 for a fee of about £23m, Dybala has bagged 27 goals in Serie A for the Turin side.

With 23 goals for club and country in his debut season, Dybala is proving he can keep his prolific rate high by scoring 14 this season across all competitions – alongside compatriot Gonzalo Higuain, who has 23 in 39 this season.

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He has led the Juve line as they romped past Porto in the Champions League to reach the quarter-finals, and the 23-year-old is proving he can cut it at the highest club level.

Argentina play a crucial World Cup group stage match against Chile this week and it will be a fascinating watch to see if Dybala can combine with current stars like Lionel Messi and Higuain to finally make the national side into the attacking force they have long-threatened to be.