Brooking made his England debut on 3 April 1974 in a 0–0 draw against Portugal. He played 47 times, scoring five goals but only appeared twice in major tournaments. At Euro 1980 in Italy he played in England's opening game against Belgium which was a 1–1 draw, but was dropped for the second game, against Italy which England lost 1–0. Re-instated to the starting eleven against Spain he scored England's first goal in a 2–1 win. Due to injury World Cup 1982 was to see him limited to playing as a substitute against Spain on 5 July 1982. Playing for only the last half-hour of the game, Brooking forced one excellent save from the Spanish goalkeeper, Luis Arconada, but with England needing to win to qualify for the semi-final a 0–0 draw saw them eliminated. This was to be his final international appearance.