Thomas Tuchel announced his final England squad of the year on Friday, and sprung an upset or two in the process. Namely, Cole Palmer was overlooked by the German. The Chelsea attacker was called up for the extended international break in September, yet pulled out due to medical reasons.
This time around, Tuchel hasn’t even bothered with Palmer, overlooking the Blues star in favour of young pair Josh King and Jobe Bellingham. The latter’s inclusion is the more interesting of the two.
Brother Jude is one of England’s star players. The 23-year-old was instrumental in England’s podium finish at the 2026 World Cup, scoring seven goals, as they become the first brothers to feature in a Three Lions squad since Gary and Phil Neville.
Jobe, who is impressing for Borussia Dortmund after a rocky debut campaign in Germany, has a tough act to follow. Dortmund spent big to sign the 21-year-old from Sunderland, but his first season in the Bundesliga was marred by inconsistency. It was difficult to build up a head of steam having made just 20 league starts.
However, Jobe has kept his head down and worked hard to nail down a regular spot under Niko Kovac, and he’s been rewarded with a more prominent role in this Dortmund side. As such, an England call-up is well deserved.
Now, part of the reason for his inclusion is down to a shortage of central midfielders. Alex Scott, who made his England debut against Croatia last month, is sidelined due to injury. Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended for next week's clash with the Vatreni, which somewhat forced Tuchel’s hand.
Not that it should take anything away from Bellingham’s club showings. Indeed, the young midfielder has taken his game to another level in recent weeks, delivering arguably his best performances in recent outings with Bayern Munich and Real Betis. “He has now played a lot of games and is in good form at Dortmund. That's why he deserves to be with us,” Tuchel explained about his decision to promote Jobe to the senior squad.
Effective off the ball
The technical side to his game should suit the international stage, and combined with his versatility - Jobe is able to operate as a box-to-box midfield engine or in the number 10 role - gives Tuchel options in the middle of the park. It’s in the latter role where Kovac has started to unlock his full potential.
A hard worker off the ball, Jobe is averaging 2.3 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per 90 in the Bundesliga this season. What really stands out, though, is the press resistance. Opponents will work tirelessly to pressure Jobe, yet he’s able to hold off markers with ease. This is evident in that he is being dispossessed just 0.3 times per 90 in Germany’s top tier this term.
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As such, Dortmund are able to build attacks from the back, safe in the knowledge that Bellingham is able to receive possession with his back to goal before turning and potentially wriggling his way out of danger as opponents struggle to win the ball back. What’s key, though, is that Jobe doesn’t just then retain possession for the sake of it.
Forward-thinking approach key
Rather, he actively seeks to set his team on the frontfoot once he does get the ball down and his head up. After all, 69 forward passes is the seventh most for Dortmund in the Bundesliga this season. It’s a metric understandably dominated by the defenders. For a midfielder who operates much higher up the pitch serves to highlight Jobe’s forward-thinking approach.
It does mean that a pass accuracy of 83.7% can be worked on, but then Jobe’s a player who prefers to take risks rather than play the safe game. This desire to take the game by the scruff of the neck will suit an England side that is able to absolutely dominate opponents. They need a player who is prepared to gamble on a tricky pass paying off, especially against teams that will implement a low block.
12 months ago, Jobe was struggling in Germany. The initial furore surrounding his high-profile arrival had quickly dissipated and it looked as though Dortmund had overspent to keep the Bellingham legacy alive.
Fast-forward to the present day, and he’s on the cusp of sharing the pitch with his brother on the international stage for the first time. He may have taken his time to adjust to the rigours of German football, but he’s now up to the challenge of performing consistently for one of Germany’s biggest teams. Transferring that to international football should be no problem for Jobe.
