Tuchel hands Jobe Bellingham his first senior England call-up on his own merit

Thomas Tuchel has called up Jobe Bellingham to the senior England squad for the first time, naming the 21-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder in a 25-man group for Nations League Group A3 matches against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and Spain in Madrid on Sunday.

The England head coach was emphatic at his Wembley press conference on Friday that the call-up was earned purely on footballing grounds. “There’s an opportunity coming on his own merit,” Tuchel said. “Jobe deserves to make an impression and that’s why we’re glad to have him in camp and see what he can do for us.”

Jobe joins his brother Jude in the squad — a notable milestone given that Jude, now a 23-year-old with 60 senior caps and a starring role at Real Madrid, never captained the Under-21s during his own rapid ascent. Jobe proudly wore the armband for the U21s in September, shining in a 4-2 comeback win over Kazakhstan in European Championship qualifying.

Under-21s manager Lee Carsley, whose glowing assessment of Jobe appears to have accelerated the senior call-up, was effusive about the younger Bellingham’s recent progress. “He was outstanding,” Carsley said. “I went to watch Jobe a couple of weeks ago in Dortmund and he’s progressing so quickly. Physically he’s grown. He’s definitely got that strength in his legs. He’s moving the ball so well and his footwork has really improved. He was always a good player but now he’s going through the levels.”

Tuchel echoed that assessment, pointing to Jobe’s consistent performances for Dortmund as the decisive factor. “In the Under-21s, he’s a standout player since a long time now. He’s the captain. He has also found his rhythm with Dortmund — he’s had an excellent start to the season and he’s a regular starter now there and very influential.”

The parallels between the two brothers are striking: both followed the unusual Birmingham-to-Dortmund pathway, both share a distinctive rangy stride, and Jobe has at times appeared to reach certain milestones even faster than Jude. Yet the younger Bellingham has worked deliberately to carve out his own identity, wearing his first name on the back of his shirt — a decision he traces back to advice from a coach during his time at Sunderland.

England have virtually secured a place in the Nations League quarter-finals and go into the final two group games looking to win Group A3 outright.