Sport
Jobe Bellingham Impresses Ahead of 2026 World Cup
As if one Bellingham wasn’t enough for the top level of European football to handle, there’s now two of them. Jude Bellingham is one of Real Madrid’s best players and his younger brother Jobe is now proving his worth for Borussia Dortmund after joining the Bundesliga giants from Sunderland earlier this summer.
Of course, this is a path well trodden by the Bellingham family. Jude also swapped the lower leagues of English football for Dortmund and used the club as a platform to become of the best midfielders of his generation. Younger brother Jobe is also on a similar trajectory, impressing for his new team at the Club World Cup.
Dortmund finished top of a group that included Fluminense, Mamelodi Sundowns and Ulsan HD with Bellingham one of their best players in all three games. The 19-year-old has been utilised as an attack-minded number eight with Bellingham particularly impressive in the 4-3 win over the Sundowns in which he found the back of the net.
With Felix Nmecha and Pascal Gross deployed as a double pivot in central midfield and Julian Brandt harnessed in a free role in the forward line alongside Serhou Guirassy, Bellingham has been given the freedom to get into the opposition box and pose a goal threat with his runs from deep.
This is a slightly different role Bellingham performed for Sunderland as The Black Cats earned promotion to the Premier League last season. While the midfielder has always been most comfortable playing towards goal, Regis Le Bris used him in a deeper position, making the most of Bellingham’s natural ability on the ball.
It’s easy to envisage how Bellingham could fit into England’s squad alongside his older brother who has been a key figure for The Three Lions at the last two major tournaments. For all the talent Thomas Tuchel has at his disposal, England’s midfield remains an equation the German coach has yet to solve.
Jordan Henderson has been reintroduced to the national team set up when many believe the former Liverpool captain is over the hill. Adam Wharton has been overlooked despite catching the eye for Crystal Palace with Kobbie Mainoo not the player he was 12 months ago when he impressed at Euro 2024.
In the two Bellinghams, Tuchel could have a pair of adaptable, multi-talented midfielders who could give England what they need in the centre of the pitch to take the final step and win a major tournament for the first time since 1966. Jobe and Jude could be the future of The Three Lions’ midfield.
Jobe is only just getting started at Dortmund. Niko Kovac is still in the midst of remoulding the Black and Yellows in his own image after taking over at the Westfalenstadion in January, but the English midfielder looks to be a big part of his vision for the Bundesliga outfit. He’s the sort of dynamic, central operator they were lacking last season.
Jude also finds himself in a fluid situation at club level with Xabi Alonso replacing Carlo Ancelotti as Real Madrid manager this summer. The former Bayer Leverkusen boss has used Bellingham in a number of different positions at the Club World Cup, hinting at how he believes even more can be unlocked out of the 22-year-old.
England boast one of the strongest and deepest squads in international football. They have almost every position on the pitch covered by multiple world class options. Jobe has a long way to go before he can be considered at the level of his older brother who is already established at international level, but he might he on his way there.
