An England under-21 international, Chamberlain broke into the England senior squad under Bobby Robson during his first season at Stoke City, scoring on his debut against Luxembourg at Wembley on 15 December 1982, at age 21. During the match, teammate Luther Blissett became the first black player to score for England, having bagged two of his three goals before Chamberlain found the net. He also made a substitute appearance in the 1–0 home defeat to Denmark on 21 September 1983; this crucial result eventually led the Danes to win qualification to Euro 1984 ahead of England. He picked up a total of eight caps, though some believed he could have gone on to pick up many more, and Port Vale coach Graham Barnett in particular said that he was "like a bloody gazelle... a black jewel... he's got the bloody lot... he's class... so much better than John Barnes."