Jobe Bellingham Earns First England Call-Up Alongside Brother Jude

Jobe Bellingham has been called up to England’s senior squad for the first time, and he will share the dressing room with his older brother Jude. Thomas Tuchel named the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder in his 25-man squad on Friday for the Nations League games against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and Spain in Madrid. The brothers would be the first siblings to play together for England since Gary and Phil Neville in 2007, and Jude has called sharing a pitch with his brother the biggest dream of his life.

How did Jobe earn the call-up?

On his own performances, and Tuchel made that point twice. Jobe has started six of Borussia Dortmund’s eight Bundesliga games this season, helping Niko Kovac’s side to five wins and three draws and a share of top spot with champions Bayern Munich, Bundesliga.com reports. He is also captain of England’s under-21 side, a role he took in September 2025, and he helped the Young Lions qualify for the European Under-21 Championship in 2027. The Times reports his performance against Bayern in Der Klassiker last weekend sealed his inclusion, and Tuchel said Lee Carsley, the under-21 coach, has been talking highly of Jobe for weeks and months.

Tuchel’s own words left no room for the idea that the name on the shirt did the work. “He’s had some good matches and he’s on a good run of form with Dortmund, so he deserves to be with us,” he told the FA’s in-house media team, Bundesliga.com reports. At the Wembley press conference he called Jobe a standout for the under-21s who has become very influential for his club side this season, theScore reports. The call-up came at the expense of Kobbie Mainoo, The Times reports, and after injury to Alex Scott and Myles Lewis-Skelly’s suspension for the Croatia game.

What did Tuchel say about the two brothers?

That the family story is the story. “I think in general it’s an incredible achievement for the family and for the brothers to be both nominated for their national team, which is an incredible story in itself,” Tuchel said at Wembley on Friday, theScore reports. He rang Jobe with the news and said he saw the excitement and the smile straight away, adding that Jobe has a very open and calm personality and that it was a very nice phone call because it was very good news.

He also drew the footballing line between the two. “We see him in the central midfield, so he’s one of five players now for the central midfield, he’s a more defensive player than his brother Jude, so he’s strong on the ball, good physique, a big body, a very physical player and can keep possession,” Tuchel said. Jobe typically plays slightly deeper than Jude, who is an all-action midfielder for Real Madrid, and Tuchel’s plan has him competing for one of the deeper midfield places rather than Jude’s role.

What is Jobe’s route to this point?

It runs through the same academy as his brother’s, then diverges. Both Bellinghams came through Birmingham City’s academy, and Jobe played 26 times for the Blues between 2022 and 2023 before moving to Sunderland for 3 million pounds. After the Black Cats’ Premier League return he signed for Borussia Dortmund in a 27.8 million pound deal, the same club where Jude spent three seasons before moving to Real Madrid. Since joining Dortmund in 2025, Jobe has missed just four games across all competitions, and he has represented England at every youth level from the under-15s to the under-21s. The pathway keeps rewarding form over age: Cavan Sullivan became the youngest scorer in USMNT history last month at 16, and Jobe’s call-up at 21 follows the same pattern.

Jude marked the news the way brothers do, by posting a picture of the pair as children wearing Birmingham City shirts on Instagram, DAZN reports. He has said of playing together for England that it would be the biggest dream of his life, and of Jobe that his happiness means more to him than his own, The Times reports. If Jobe makes his debut, the pair would become the 22nd set of brothers to play for England’s senior team, DAZN reports.

Why were Palmer and Foden left out?

Because Tuchel’s patience with absences has run out, and he said so in public. Cole Palmer withdrew from England’s September camp with a muscle injury, and Tuchel said at the time: “It’s another missed opportunity. He misses too many opportunities,” Reuters reports. At Friday’s announcement he repeated the point, saying Palmer “misses too many opportunities to impress” and adding that it is not personal and that the players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place, theScore reports. Palmer has scored five goals and provided three assists in 11 appearances for Chelsea this season, so the omission is about availability rather than form. Phil Foden was also omitted again, while Declan Rice and Ben White returned to the squad.

What is at stake in the two games?

England are second in Group A3 after four games, having won three and lost one, against world champions Spain at Wembley, theScore reports. They host Croatia on Thursday, a side they beat 7-0 last month, then travel to Madrid to face Spain, and one point from the Spain game would guarantee qualification for the Nations League knockout rounds in March. Tuchel said he is targeting top spot and wants the Nations League to prepare the team for the Euros in 2028.

There is a second milestone in the same squad. Harry Kane, who has just signed the biggest contract in Bayern Munich’s history, is set to pass Peter Shilton as England’s most-capped men’s player with his 126th appearance, theScore reports. Kane won the Ballon d’Or last week, and his next England game would add the caps record to it. The international break has already produced one huge story this week, with Cristiano Ronaldo announcing his retirement from international football after his feud with Portugal coach Jorge Jesus. For Jobe, the target is simpler: a debut, and a first game in the same England side as his brother. Tuchel said he has a very good chance of being in the match-day squad against Croatia because Lewis-Skelly is suspended, The Times reports, and Fulham teenager Josh King, the squad’s other first-time call-up, will be waiting for the same chance.

What happens next?

Thursday at Wembley, with the brothers question answered by the team sheet. If Jobe is in the squad, England will have siblings in the same senior team for the first time in 19 years, since the Nevilles shared a side in the 1-0 defeat by Spain in February 2007. The longer story is the one Tuchel keeps returning to: he has spoken since taking over about building a brotherhood in the squad, and he has now taken that literally. Whether Jobe stays in the senior setup after this camp will depend on the same thing that got him here, his Dortmund form, and on whether the debut, if it comes, looks like the start of something rather than a family photograph.