Waddle was in England's squad at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cup as well as UEFA Euro 1988. Although England were eliminated at the group stages of Euro 88 after losing all three games, they did reach the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup and the semi-finals in 1990, where Waddle missed the decisive penalty in the latter as he put it inches over the bar in the shootout defeat to West Germany. He says he only took the fifth penalty because Paul Gascoigne, who had been suspended from playing in the next game if England progressed, was too upset to take it. He subsequently blamed a chance meeting with Uri Geller and Michael Jackson prior to the tournament for missing his penalty. Waddle's performances in the 1990 World Cup were described as "superb" by Rob Bagchi, writing for "The Guardian" in 2010.