It may be a surprise to some but Jobe Bellingham’s call-up to the England senior side has been a long time coming.

The 21-year-old’s career path has been very similar to that of his 23-year-old brother Jude – England’s star player at the World Cup and one of Real Madrid’s best players. Both were stars of the Birmingham City academy before big-money moves to the German Bundesliga and England call-ups.

Jobe’s debut for Birmingham came at the age of 16 years and 107 days – 69 days older than Jude when he made his first appearance for the Blues’ senior side.

The central midfielder then moved to Sunderland and helped them win promotion to the Premier League before joining German side Borussia Dortmund at the age of 19 in a deal worth up to £31m.

Jude also moved to Dortmund when he was 17, before developing into one of the world’s best players and joining Real Madrid.

Having one of the best midfielders in the world as your older brother comes with challenges and Jobe has consistently been compared to his sibling.

But the former Sunderland midfielder is his own player, wearing ‘Jobe’ on the back of his shirt instead of his family name. He said it was suggested to him by a former coach because “it shows that I’m going my own way”.

England manager Thomas Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live it is “a beautiful story”.

“They are both good for each other,” he added. “My understanding is they are very close.

“It makes life easier for Jobe to come into camp and know his brother is one of the key players in our team. So, that will hopefully help him, but don’t forget he is here on his own merits, and he is not here because of his brother.”

Jobe is a different type of player to Jude, sitting deeper in the midfield, but is as physically imposing while still being good on the ball.

He is the current captain of the England Under-21 side, and Tuchel said Young Lions head coach Lee Carsley had been pushing for some time for the younger Bellingham to get senior recognition.

“He’s the standout player,” said Tuchel. “He’s the captain, so the door should always be open for the pathway, always be open for special performances over a long period of time.

“That’s what Jobe has done on top of it. He found his way, he found his rhythm with Dortmund. He’s had an excellent start to his season, is a regular starter and influential.”

England host Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, 12 November before travelling to Madrid to take on Spain on 15 November in this next international break.

With Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly suspended for the first game, and Bournemouth’s Alex Scott out injured after shining on his debut in last month’s 7-0 win over Croatia, Tuchel said a natural “opportunity” for Jobe had opened up.

“He deserves to make an impression for us,” said the German in his news conference after naming the squad.

“It’s an incredible achievement for the family and for the brothers. I saw his excitement straight away and his smile.

“He has an open and calm personality. He’s one of five players for the central midfield.

“He’s a more defensive player than Jude. So strong on the ball, good physique, a big body, a very physical player and can keep possession.

“It’s now up to him, but he’s excited and happy and eager to impress, and that’s the best foundation to have a good camp for him.”

If they get on the pitch together, Jude and Jobe won’t be the first brothers to represent the Three Lions.

It has been 19 years since Gary and Phil Neville, who both played for Manchester United, last played together for England, and 30 years since they started.

They first played together for England in 1996 against China, becoming the first siblings to do so since Bobby and Jack Charlton 26 years earlier.

Jack and Bobby were both part of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning squad.

Bobby was the younger of the two, but made his Three Lions debut first. He went on to win 106 international caps.

Jack, who was not called into the England team until days before his 30th birthday, won 35 caps.

More recently, brothers Nathaniel and Trevoh Chalobah have both played for England, but never alongside each other.

Nathaniel made his solitary appearance as an injury-time substitute in a 3-2 away win against Spain in a 2018 Nations League game.

His younger brother Trevoh, currently a Como defender, made the first of his three international appearances against Senegal in June 2025 and was in England’s 2026 World Cup squad.

Jobe has shown remarkable progress since last winter. In the first couple of months, following his move from Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund, he seemed timid, as if he was just trying to avoid making any mistakes. His passes rarely, if ever, caused trouble for opposing defences.

Even Dortmund manager Niko Kovac said at one point that he was surprised how long it might take him to get comfortable in the Bundesliga. But hard work in the gym to build up muscle mass in order to become more explosive and the fact that he received plenty of chances in Dortmund’s line-up has helped his development.

In the latter stages of last season, his decision-making was much faster and his intensity seemed higher. Still, Dortmund decided to sign Dutch midfielder Joey Veerman, a specialist at making line-breaking passes, in August.

It meant Jobe’s place in the starting XI was far from secure at the beginning of this season.

In recent games, Kovac has employed Bellingham in a more advanced role, as one of the two number 10s behind the striker. In this role, Bellingham drove into the final third with pace and showed intensity during pressing sequences.

His performance in the 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last Saturday was arguably his best since his arrival in Germany.