Bellingham brothers could become first siblings to play together for England in 19 years at Wembley
Jude and Jobe Bellingham could become the first brothers to play together for England for 19 years if Jobe wins his first cap and lines up alongside Jude in the Nations League match with Croatia at Wembley on Thursday. Jude is a veteran of 60 appearances for England; Jobe would make his senior debut if selected.
It is six years since Jude Bellingham played his final game for Birmingham City, and three years since younger brother Jobe wore the club's shirt for the last time. Jude, 23, is now at Real Madrid after a spell at Borussia Dortmund, while Jobe, 21, is continuing his football education at his brother's former club in Germany after two seasons with Sunderland. Their Stourbridge roots remain visible at St Andrew's, where supporters pose for photos in front of a mural of Jude and still turn up wearing Bellingham shirts. "They both had a real connection with fans," Craig Courtney, from the Tilton Talk fan podcast, told BBC Sport. "Fans loved the fact they both cared. "They wore their hearts on their sleeves and helped Birmingham when we were fighting relegation. Even now, Jude and Jobe remember where it all started for them."
After graduating from Birmingham's academy, the brothers combined for 70 league and cup appearances for the club. They have never appeared together in a senior match because Jude had left by the time Jobe broke into the first team in 2022, and Jude originally joined Birmingham aged eight.
Jude made his senior debut aged 16 years and 38 days in 2019 and signed his first professional contract in 2020 after turning 17. He moved to Dortmund for an initial fee of £20m during the Covid-19 pandemic and, when he joined Real Madrid in 2023, Birmingham received a reported sell-on fee of at least £10m. "We cannot possibly imagine, without Jude's decision [to sign a contract], where we would be as a club in a pandemic like this," then Birmingham chief executive Xuandong Ren told BBC WM after Jude joined Dortmund. "He could easily have just looked after himself and not the club, but he chose the best possible way to look after the club."
Jobe became the second youngest player to appear for Birmingham when he made his debut in January 2022 aged 16 years and 107 days. "This was a lad, regardless of who his brother was or what he was achieving, who would do anything to write his own success story," former Birmingham striker Troy Deeney told the Sun. "Everything he has achieved on the pitch, too, has come with an instant comparison to his older brother. "He never got that one moment to enjoy something without someone, somewhere saying: 'Yeah, but what about Jude?' "That only added to how strong he was mentally, and anyone who suggests he is where he is because of his last name is talking rubbish." Deeney added: "What impressed me more than anything he had done on the pitch was his attitude - a hell-bent determination to get to the top and the common sense to take all the right steps along the way." Jobe played 26 games before Sunderland paid £3m for him in 2023, with Birmingham receiving a reported £4m sell-on fee when he moved to Dortmund two years later.
Both brothers have returned to St Andrew's since leaving; Jobe captained England Under-21s to a 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland at his old ground last November. Before that match U21s boss Lee Carsley, who managed Jude when he was England interim manager in 2024, praised the brothers for their work ethic and determination. Jude attended a pre-season friendly at St Andrew's in July watching his former club play Barcelona and wore a Birmingham shirt while in the stands. When Jude joined Dortmund in 2020 Birmingham retired the 17-year-old's number 22 shirt after 44 appearances. "That was a gesture of thanks for what Jude had done," Courtney said. "It might be wishful thinking, but I really believe Jude has unfinished business at Birmingham. I can see a scenario before he retires where he gets an opportunity to wear the number 22 again."
If the brothers do appear together against Croatia they will be the first siblings to play for England since Gary and Phil Neville in a friendly against Spain at Old Trafford in 2007, and it will be an immensely proud moment for their parents, Mark and Denise. "We've played together for so long in the street and to play with my brother Jobe for England would be the biggest dream of my life," Jude wrote on social media in 2024. "That would mean more than any of the trophies. Nothing would even get close to that... nothing."
