Later Career
In total Bell won 48 caps and scored nine goals for England. He also captained the national team for a game in 1972, a defeat to Northern Ireland. 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 World Cup in 1974, a failure which also forced England manager Alf Ramsey's departure. Bell's former manager at Manchester City Joe Mercer took over as caretaker of the national side and chose Bell to play in every game that he was in charge.
Bell is regarded as one of England's finest ever midfield players, being described by one commentator as 'the most finished article in the modern game'. His finest performances for his country included scoring in the 7–0 demolition of Austria, and also helping England defeat 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 Mick Channon, Kevin Keegan, Malcolm Macdonald, Alan Hudson and Alan Ball as well as Bell. Channon has commented that he did not understand why the manager at the time, Don Revie, did not continue with this line-up which he considered was as good as any forward line England had had since 1970.
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