cresswell made his full all whites debut in a 2-0 win over singapore on 1 october 1978. he played in all 3 matches at the 1982 fifa world cup in spain, where they lost to scotland, ussr and brazil. cresswell ended his international playing career having played 64 times for new zealand, of which 33 were official full internationals in which he scored 2 goals. his final cap was a substitute appearance in a 12-0 win over western samoa on 11 november 1987.