Bell played twice for the England Under 23 team in 1968. He played in a 2–1 victory against Scotland Under 23 team in which
Martin Chivers and
Rodney Marsh scored for the England Under 23 team. He also played in a 4–0 victory against the Hungary Under 23 team. Bell scored one of the four goals. The other scorers were Chivers, Marsh and
Joe Royle. Bell was replaced by
Peter Thompson. Later in the same month, Bell won his first cap for the senior England team against
Sweden, where he helped inspire goals from
Martin Peters,
Bobby Charlton and
Roger Hunt in a 3–1 victory. One journalist stated that Bell 'revealed high promise and fitted in splendidly'. Bell won his second cap in a 1–0 defeat to West Germany in which
Brian Labone scored an own goal. Bell was part of the England squad for
UEFA Euro 1968, which was ultimately won by
Italy. England finished third in the tournament after defeating the
Soviet Union in the third-place match. In 1969, Bell distinguished himself in the national team, scoring England's only goal in a 1–0 victory over the
Netherlands in an "all-action display". Bell was part of the England squad which toured South America in 1969.
Brian Glanville contended that both Bell and
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder
Alan Mullery excelled on the tour. Bell gave England an early lead in a game against
Brazil, but late goals from
Tostão and
Jairzinho gave Brazil a 2–1 victory. Bell also played in a 2–1 victory against
Uruguay on the tour. He also helped England to win the
1968–69 British Home Championship. He played in a 2–1 victory against
Wales in which Bobby Charlton and
Francis Lee scored England's goals.
1970 FIFA World Cup Bell played in the
1969–70 British Home Championship, which was shared between England, Wales and Scotland. He replaced
Keith Newton in a 3–1 victory against
Northern Ireland. He was subsequently included in the England squad for the
World Cup in
Mexico. Glanville contends that Bell's excellence was threatening
Bobby Charlton's place in the England team. England were seeking to replicate their performance in the
1966 FIFA World Cup, which they had won. Bell's City teammate
Francis Lee was also included in the squad. In order to help the players acclimatise to the heat of Mexico, the team staged an intra-squad mini-olympics which saw Bell win every event. In the group stage, Bell came on as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat to
Brazil, in which
Jairzinho scored the only goal. Bell "added spark to the England offence in the latter stages" of the game. Bell started in the next game, a 1–0 victory against
Czechoslovakia, in which
Allan Clarke scored the only goal. In the quarter-final, Bell replaced Bobby Charlton in a 2–3 defeat to West Germany. England had taken a 2–0 lead in the game through goals from
Alan Mullery and
Martin Peters.
Franz Beckenbauer had pulled a goal back for West Germany before the substitution. Following the substitution of Charlton and another substitution (Peters was replaced by
Norman Hunter), the Germans scored twice (
Uwe Seeler and
Gerd Müller were the scorers). Bell was involved in creating chances for England following his introduction. At one point in the game, Bell sent in a low cross to the near post, but Hurst headed the ball just wide of the far one. At another point in the game, Bell beat Beckenbauer in the German penalty area and was then knocked down by the German player, but England were not awarded a penalty. The substitution was deemed by some to be the negative (for England) turning point of the game. However, West Germany scored their first goal before Charlton was substituted, and the fact that the German team at the time had a habit of coming back in games indicates that it was questionable to blame the substitutions for England's defeat. West Germany were subsequently defeated by
Italy 4–3 in the semi-final. Italy were eventually defeated 4–1 by
Brazil in the
final. Charlton asserted that the absence of
Gordon Banks (he was replaced in goal by
Peter Bonetti) through sickness was the most important factor in England's defeat to the West Germans. Similarly, Glanville argued that "had Banks played, England would surely have won". Geoff Hurst stated that "to suggest that Colin Bell's inclusion weakened the team is patently unfair".
Alan Ball described the substitutions as wise given the need to rest players for the prospective semi-final.
Failure to qualify after 1970 Bell also played for England in the
1971–72 British Home Championship which was shared with Scotland. Bell scored in a 3–0 victory against Wales (with
Rodney Marsh and
Emlyn Hughes scoring England's other goals). Bell also captained England (in
Bobby Moore's absence) in a 1–0 defeat to Northern Ireland. In addition, Bell played in a 1–0 victory over Scotland (in which
Alan Ball scored the winner). Bell also played in a 3–1 defeat and a 0–0 draw with West Germany in 1972, which meant that England failed to qualify for
UEFA Euro 1972. In the first game,
Sepp Maier had spilled a shot from Bell which Lee tapped in to equalise
Uli Hoeneß' first half goal. However, late goals from
Günter Netzer and
Gerd Müller secured victory for the West Germans. In November 1972, Bell "cashed in on clever approach work by Alan Ball to score the decisive winning goal" in a 1–0 victory over Wales in a World Cup qualification game at
Ninian Park. Bell played in the other qualification game against Wales at Wembley, which ended 1–1. Bell was described as having 'excellent technique' and rated as the 'best England player' in the game as he 'was always trying to find a way through the packed Welsh defence'. In 1973, Bell scored in the 7–0 demolition of
Austria. In the game Bell, along with
Martin Peters and
Tony Currie "dictated the pace and pattern of the match from midfield". Bell also helped England to win the
1972–73 British Home Championship. He played in a 2–1 victory against Northern Ireland, a 3–0 victory against Wales and a 1–0 victory against Scotland. Despite these successes, Bell was upset that he was unable to better make his name on the world stage when England failed to qualify for the
1974 FIFA World Cup. England had needed to defeat
Poland to qualify. Poland's goalkeeper
Jan Tomaszewski had been labelled "a clown" by
Brian Clough before the match but turned in a man-of-the-match performance in which he repeatedly denied England's attackers (including Bell). The only goal that Tomaszewski conceded was an equalizing
penalty from
Allan Clarke. In drawing the game, Poland qualified for the finals in
West Germany at the expense of England. England's failure led to manager
Alf Ramsey's departure. Bell's former manager at
Manchester City,
Joe Mercer (who had left City in 1971), took over as caretaker of the national side and chose Bell to play in every game that he was in charge. Bell also played for England in the
1973–74 British Home Championship which was shared with Scotland. Bell played in a 2–0 victory against Wales (in which
Stan Bowles and
Kevin Keegan were the scorers), a 1–0 victory against Northern Ireland and a 2–0 defeat to Scotland. Bell played for England in a 2–2 draw against
Argentina in which
Mick Channon and
Frank Worthington scored for England and
Mario Kempes scored twice for Argentina. He was also part of the England squad that toured Eastern Europe in the summer of 1974. This included a 1–1 draw with
East Germany, in "which
Martin Dobson, (Colin) Bell and
Trevor Brooking dominated the match in midfield". In the second game of the tour, England defeated
Bulgaria 1–0. The performance of England's midfield trio (Bell, Brooking and Dobson) in the game was described as "tremendous". In the last game of the tour (which was Mercer's last game as England manager), England drew 2–2 with
Yugoslavia. Bell scored a brace in
Don Revie's first game in charge of England, a 3–0 victory over
Czechoslovakia. Bell was described as 'one of the outstanding successes for England in their European Championship game with Czechoslovakia at Wembley'. A
Daily Mirror journalist described Bell as the 'man of the match'. One journalist described 'Bell's first goal as one of the best I've seen at Wembley. It began with a superb 30-yard pass through the Czech defence by Channon and Bell, running like an antelope, slid the ball past the goalkeeper'. In Revie's third game in charge, Bell helped England defeat the then World Champions,
Germany, 2–0, in 1975, at the one hundredth international game played at Wembley Stadium. The team that beat the Germans in that game consisted of a forward line-up of Channon, Keegan,
Malcolm Macdonald,
Alan Hudson and Alan Ball, as well as Bell. Channon commented that he did not understand why Revie did not continue with this line-up which he considered was as good as any forward line England had had since 1970. In the game against the West Germans, the energy and tackling of Bell and Ball had freed Hudson to show his full range of playmaking skills. Bell also helped England to win the
1974–75 British Home Championship. Bell played in a 0–0 draw with Northern Ireland, and a 5–1 victory against Scotland (in which he also scored). Bell was rested for the game with Wales, which ended in a 2–2 draw. One journalist commenting about Bell's absence before that game stated that 'England will undoubtedly miss the non-stop running and 100 per cent effort of the consistent Colin Bell'. Bell won his last cap in a 2–1 defeat to
Czechoslovakia in October 1975. Bell was named in the provisional squad for the
1975–76 British Home Championship but was unable to feature due to injury.
Other international appearances In January 1973, Bell played for the New European Common Market (NECM), alongside
Peter Storey,
Emlyn Hughes,
Bobby Moore,
Bobby Charlton and
Alan Ball, in the match celebrating the admission to the European Common Market of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. NECM defeated the Old European Common Market (OECM) 2–0. In addition, in March 1974, Bell scored a goal in a 5–0 victory for
The Football League XI against the
Scottish Football League XI at
Maine Road. ==Later life==