Editing Terry Butcher (section)

==International career==
[[File:Maradona vs england.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Butcher ''(No. 6)'' is dejected as [[Diego Maradona]] celebrates his second goal (considered one of the [[Goal of the Century|best goals in World Cup history]]) during the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986 World Cup]]]]
Butcher's performances for Ipswich were noticed by [[England national football team|England]] manager [[Ron Greenwood]], who gave him his debut in a friendly against [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] on 31 May 1980, when he was 21 years old. He won his second cap 10 months later in a 2–1 defeat against [[Spain national football team|Spain]] (also a friendly).

Butcher was the youngest member of the back four that featured at the [[1982 FIFA World Cup|1982 World Cup]] in Spain. He became a regular member of the national side at this stage and remained England's first choice centre-back for the rest of the decade, playing in the [[1986 FIFA World Cup|1986 World Cup]]. In that tournament he played in the [[Argentina v England (1986 FIFA World Cup)|quarter final against Argentina]] in which [[Diego Maradona]] passed five English players before scoring, a goal sometimes described as the [[Goal of the Century|'goal of the century']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php |title=Player Profile |date=16 July 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716164734/http://www.englandfc.com/Profiles/php/PlayerProfileByName.php |archive-date=16 July 2014 }}</ref>

A broken leg meant that Butcher was not in the England side that exited at the group stage of the [[1988 European Football Championship|1988 European Championship]] while manager Robson was forced to rely on an inexperienced defensive partnership of [[Tony Adams]] and [[Mark Wright (footballer, born 1963)|Mark Wright]].

While playing for England in a vital World Cup qualifier against [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] in Stockholm on 6 September 1989, Butcher suffered a deep cut to his forehead early in the game. Butcher had some impromptu [[surgical suture|stitches]] inserted by the [[physiotherapist]] and, swathed in [[bandage]]s, continued playing.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/2011-09-08/paul-ince-and-terry-butcher-england-players-not-bleeding-enough-qualifiers|title= Paul Ince and Terry Butcher: 'England players not bleeding enough in qualifier's|work= Talksport|access-date= 21 June 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120910073607/http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/2011-09-08/paul-ince-and-terry-butcher-england-players-not-bleeding-enough-qualifiers|archive-date= 10 September 2012|url-status= dead}}</ref> His constant heading of the ball – unavoidable when playing in the centre of defence – disintegrated the bandages and reopened the cut to the extent that his white England shirt was red with blood by the end of the game.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/blood-sweat-tears-but-why-do-we-never-beat-sweden-6261876.html |title=Blood, sweat, tears... but why do we never beat Sweden?  |first=Glenn |last=Moore |work=The Independent |date=14 November 2011 |access-date=12 September 2013}}</ref> The image is regarded as iconic.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-suffolk-32449543/terry-butcher-recalls-1989-head-wound-from-sweden-v-england | title = Terry Butcher recalls 1989 head wound from Sweden v England| publisher = BBC News| access-date = 15 January 2019| date = 24 April 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/50-iconic-english-football-images-11976904 | work = [[Manchester Evening News]] | title = 50 of English football's most iconic pictures | first = Simon| last= Coyle |date = 8 October 2016| access-date = 15 January 2019}}</ref>

England made the semi-finals of the [[1990 FIFA World Cup|1990 World Cup]] with Butcher at the helm of a more-cautious back five (Butcher with Wright and [[Des Walker]] in the centre, plus full-backs [[Stuart Pearce]] and – initially – [[Gary Stevens (footballer, born 1963)|Gary Stevens]], later [[Paul Parker (footballer)|Paul Parker]]); he also took over the captaincy after an injury ended [[Bryan Robson]]'s tournament prematurely. After the World Cup, Butcher retired from international football with 77 caps and three goals to his name over a period of 10 years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/30068817|title=Scotland v England: Terry Butcher predicts test for Hodgson's side|date=16 November 2014|access-date=26 January 2019|language=en-GB}}</ref>