His performances for club saw him earn a call-up to the England team. He made his international debut on 19 January 1946 in a 2–0 win over Belgium in a (post-war) 'Victory International'. His full debut came on 28 September 1946 in a thumping 7–2 win against Ireland. He was made captain in 1948, a role he held for 90 games until his retirement (an all-time record shared subsequently with Bobby Moore). In 1952, with his 42nd cap, he surpassed Bob Crompton's appearance record for England, which had stood since 1914. In total, he made 70 consecutive full international appearances with 105 in all, scoring three times. He was also the first football player in the world to earn 100 caps, and it was more than a decade before his record was broken by another player, Bobby Charlton. As of present, Wright remains the ninth most capped player ever to have played for England being in possession of more caps than players such as Bryan Robson, Kenny Sansom, John Barnes, Martin Peters, Ray Wilkins, Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer.