Tuchel hands Jobe Bellingham first England call-up as brothers could unite for Nations League ties

Thomas Tuchel has handed a first senior England call-up to Jobe Bellingham, saying Jude Bellingham had urged him to monitor the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, as he named a 25-man squad for Nations League matches against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and Spain in Madrid three days later.

Tuchel described the brothers linking up in his squad as a “beautiful story” and acknowledged Jude’s regular reminders to scouts and staff: “Me and Jude spoke about his brother because I was aware it was always his dream [to play for England with Jobe]. Jude was always like: ‘Watch him, watch him, he’s good, he can make it.’ I would say: ‘Yeah, we are watching him.’ And we know, of course, [about him] from Lee Carsley [the under-21s manager].” Jude has said of the possibility of playing with his sibling: “It would be the biggest dream of my life,” he said. “It would mean more than any of the trophies I have won.”

Tuchel evaluated Jobe’s role in midfield as “maybe more a No 8 than a classic 6 and less of a 10” and noted that Myles Lewis-Skelly’s suspension against Croatia increases Jobe’s chances of involvement. He also pointed out the rarity of brothers appearing together for England, noting it has been 19 years since Gary and Phil Neville were the last siblings to do so.

The manager named a 25-player group that includes goalkeepers Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton) and James Trafford (Leeds United). His defensive selections were Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter) and Ben White (Arsenal). The midfielders called are Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Josh King (Fulham), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal) and Declan Rice (Arsenal); forwards include Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool) and Morgan Rogers (Chelsea).

Tuchel recounted breaking the call-up news to Jobe on a video call, saying the new cap “couldn’t stop smiling” and adding: “He has the same beautiful smile as Jude.” He also admitted a slip of the tongue, briefly calling the younger Bellingham “Jube”. On his relationship with Jude, Tuchel said: “It was a bit of an up and down [relationship] but we are in a good place,” and added: “I hope we have finished with the down. You never know as a coach!”

The coach pointed to recent positive results as evidence the new approach is working, recalling that England won three of four Nations League fixtures in September and October to all but secure a place in the quarter-finals. Tuchel said he had been tense after the World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina and made difficult squad decisions following that tournament, removing Noni Madueke, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney from his World Cup selection.

Tuchel outlined his selection thinking around players on the periphery and injuries, noting Dean Henderson, Dan Burn and Jordan Henderson — who were included in the summer squad — have been left out, while Kobbie Mainoo and Nico O’Reilly were also omitted, the latter managing an injury. He listed absentees through injury as Reece James, Tino Livramento, John Stones, Trevoh Chalobah, Alex Scott, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, and confirmed he had added Josh King to the group on Friday, describing the 19-year-old attacking midfielder’s only previous involvement as at the pre-World Cup training camp in Florida; Tuchel also recalled Ben White.

Addressing squad structure and leadership, Tuchel said: “It has to be like this. We said at some point that we need to take the next step, otherwise you’re left behind. You need to bring in new players for competition; young players, fresh energy. I was a bit worried in the last camp because we were missing so many internal leaders but the group did excellently in a new style, in a new leadership way but in their style. Now there’s a little bit of proof of concept. We give the players the opportunity and responsibility.” He namechecked Harry Kane, Saka, Jude Bellingham, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi as his current leaders and, when asked if they were the leadership group, replied: “Per se. I said straight away that I want to have a group that starts matches regularly. These were the players – without having a guarantee. But I said: ‘I want you to start these matches and you make sure that the energy, attitude, the standards within the group are at the highest level.’ That has not changed. So they are basically a leadership group on the field.”

On selection controversies, Tuchel said Palmer’s omission was “not personal … but the competition is on. It’s about the ones who walk the walk and come to camp”. He described Phil Foden as remaining close to selection: “Phil is always an option because I’m in love with him as a player,” Tuchel said. “It was very close. It’s also close for Eberechi Eze to keep his place with us. He’s not starting for Arsenal. The advantage was maybe that Eberechi and Morgan Gibbs-White were in camp last time. They need to fight for it. That’s what we want. And Phil is always close.”

Tuchel also reflected on Kobbie Mainoo’s situation, saying: “He was hugely disappointed from the World Cup and deservedly so,” and recounting his apology to the player: “I said in front of the team and the staff: ‘Sorry, I didn’t pick you. You did nothing wrong. That is on me.’ I think it cost him a bit of confidence. Then he pulled out of the last camp when I was desperate to include him in this new start. And then he entered a difficult spell. He was injured and Man United fell off a cliff a little bit performance-wise.”

England’s immediate challenge is the Nations League double-header: Croatia at Wembley on Thursday followed by Spain in Madrid three days later, fixtures that will test Tuchel’s revamped squad and choices for the competition’s next phase.