‘So special’: Jobe Bellingham relishes England chance with brother Jude

A message in his car, a brother’s recommendation and a Dortmund rise: how Jobe Bellingham’s England dream could now end with a historic family moment with Jude this week.

Updated : Nov 10, 2026 23:38 IST , Chennai - 3 MINS READ

File Photo: Jobe Bellingham could play for England alongside his brother Jude this week. | Photo Credit: AP

Jobe Bellingham says it will be “so special” if he gets the chance to make an emotional England debut alongside his brother Jude this week.

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder has been called up for the first time for the Nations League games against Croatia on Thursday and Spain on Sunday.

If the 21-year-old plays in either match, the Bellinghams will become the 22nd set of brothers to represent England. The last pair to play together were Gary and Phil Neville, 19 years ago.

Real Madrid midfielder Jude, 23, has said that playing for England alongside his younger brother would be the highlight of his career. Jobe, the England Under-21 captain and a key figure at Dortmund this season, shared that view.

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“I can’t ignore it, but obviously with Jude being here too, it’s a great, great feeling for the family,” Jobe said on Tuesday.

“It’s quite special, to be honest. It’s such a huge bonus on top of something that’s already so special and so great.

“To be called up for England is a dream itself. To have that chance of an opportunity to represent England with my brother, it’s really hard to put into words.

“I think it’s only emotion that could describe it, and, hopefully, if that time does come, you’ll see a lot of emotion from people, and definitely from my family.”

England boss Thomas Tuchel told Jobe of his selection last week, revealing that Jude had suggested he look at his brother. Tuchel called the chance to pick both brothers a “beautiful story”.

“Yeah, I’d been obviously hoping for it, as you would as a player,” Jobe said.

“It was last Thursday when I was driving back from training, and I saw a message pop up in my car and it said, ‘Hi, Jobe, it’s Thomas Tuchel’.

“I was, as you can imagine, ecstatic and so excited and then when I took the call later on, it was just quite surreal.

“You don’t really know what to do with yourself in that moment, but you’re just so pleased and I couldn’t stop smiling.”

The brothers have followed similar paths. Both came through the Birmingham youth academy, with Jude joining Dortmund as a teenager and Jobe moving to Sunderland. Jude went on to global stardom in Madrid, while Jobe helped Sunderland win promotion to the Premier League before following his brother to Dortmund.

“I feel really, really proud,” Jobe said. “It was something that I’d hoped for and I felt like I was making it a little bit more possible each week.”