For years, Jobe Bellingham has been in the shadows of his older brother Jude.
Now, for the first time since they were children, the duo are poised to perform on the same stage. Only this time it won't be under the lampposts of Stourbridge, but the floodlights at Wembley.
Jobe, 21, has been called up to England's senior squad for the first time and is often described in similar terms to his elder sibling: relentlessly ambitious, focused, and a quick learner who is wise beyond his years.
'You have to have an X-Factor and Jobe does,' said Regis Le Bris, his old manager at Sunderland.
That X-Factor appears to run in the Bellingham blood. Earlier this week Jude was unveiled as the new underwear heart-throb for Calvin Klein, channelling his inner David Beckham in a smouldering photoshoot. No pressure, Jobe.
Their main difference on the pitch is that Jobe, while versatile, tends to occupy a deeper-lying role in midfield – and that actually increases the chances of Thomas Tuchel fielding them together. There is every chance that, against Croatia or Spain next week, we will see just the fourth pair of brothers to feature for England since the Second World War.
They share a close relationship and in September were VIP guests of McLaren for the Spanish Grand Prix, posing for photographs in matching blue shirts and identical haircuts, a mischievous double act.
If you were a few pints deep in the Formula One hospitality area, you'd be forgiven for thinking they were the same bloke – especially when their footballing trajectories are so similar.
Jobe began his career at Birmingham City, like Jude, before moving to Sunderland and now Borussia Dortmund, where his brother also played. Jobe is in his second full season with the Westphalia giants.
He has previously admitted his trepidation at following in Jude's footsteps, once telling the German club's in-house media channel: 'I was biased against joining Borussia Dortmund for a very long time.
'I had anxieties, fears, and you want to be your own man. But I don't think I should let those stop me from making the right decision.'
The comparisons are inevitable, though, when you share the same name and your potential also happens to be through the ceiling. It is a theme Jobe will simply have to contend with wherever he roams.
In Dortmund's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich on Saturday, the resemblance was striking as he delivered a standout performance – even having the ball in the back of the net, though his goal was ruled out for a Carney Chukwuemeka foul.
At one stage, Bellingham backheeled the ball over Aleksandar Pavlovic, won the ball back off Dayot Upamecano, drifted past Pavlovic with a skill that left him on one knee, and drove about 30 yards towards goal before firing a shot just over the bar.
In that ten-second flash, he displayed the sort of tenacity, ingenuity, and swagger which we have come to associate with Jude.
While not as brazen on the surface as Jude, Jobe perhaps gets some of his confidence from their father Mark.
The brothers were introduced to football by their dad, a retired police sergeant who also scored 700 goals in non-league.
Raising his sons in the West Midlands alongside their mother Denise, Mark gave them tips on how to improve and how to deal with the pressures of football. Jude even describes his father as his first footballing hero.
The crackerjack duo have always competed to see who can be the most precocious. Jude became Birmingham City's youngest-ever player when he debuted for them in 2019. When Jobe made his bow for them in 2022, he did so just 69 days older.
He earned his move to Sunderland after just 26 games and was a hit on Wearside. In his second campaign, he won the Championship Young Player of the Season award and helped them to promotion via the play-offs.
Manager Le Bris was breathless in his praise. 'There are many [qualities], there is a long list,' he said. 'Probably his ambition is one of the first ideas I have when I think about Jobe.
'He is very ambitious but this ambition is not naive. It is connected with what he is doing every day in training and every game on the pitch.
'He has many good qualities as a footballer. He is very powerful and he understands the game very well. He is really interested in the game and, because of that, he is able to improve with experiences. He can learn very quickly.
'He is older than his age. He has more maturity. He is like an exception in the sport. It is not easy to play at the level he is doing so at his age, but he is doing so well.'
In the summer of 2025, Dortmund got on the blower. They were willing to pay £31million – more than they had for Jude – and put him straight in the squad for the Club World Cup. Dortmund's UK scout is Daniel Dodds, the brother of Mike, who had worked with Jobe in Birmingham's academy and at Sunderland.
'I think he can go to the very top,' Mike told the Northern Echo in 2023. 'Both brothers have a very similar mindset in terms of their relentlessness in their pursuit of where they want to get to.'
Despite the extravagant projections, Jobe's time in Germany's industrial belt has not been entirely smooth. Often he has been left to simmer on the bench, unable to nail down a regular starting spot.
In his first Klassiker experience, he came on only to lose the ball and have Michael Olise's shot deflect in off him. One report described him as a man who looked 'completely stripped of confidence'.
On the opening day of last season against St Pauli, he was hauled off at the break, leading to his father going ballistic and allegedly confronting sporting director Sebastian Kehl. That put Jobe in an awkward spot. He was also sent off for a professional foul against Freiburg.
Amid his struggles to adapt to the Bundesliga, he has copped criticism off the ferocious pundit Dietmar Hamann, who blasted him as a 'problem child' in a column for Sky Sport. 'Young, expensive and, so far, not even half as good as Jude Bellingham,' seethed the former Liverpool midfielder.
Jobe has become a more regular starter since the turn of the year and, in any case, has always been highly thought of in English football circles.
Lee Carsley made Jobe his captain for the Under-21s and waxed lyrical about him: 'I think he will be an all-round box-to-box player. He can be creative, score goals. I still feel he can score more goals.
'His shooting is excellent, especially in training. He can link and receive in tight areas.'
Carsley added: 'He’s a good example to the rest of the group, the way he conducts himself on and off the pitch, the way he prepares, the influence he has on the rest of the team.
'He’s a player who can grow into that role. We just assume that players understand leadership and how that works. It will be good to add another string to his bow and keep improving his game.'
After his U21s debut against Spain in Cadiz, he was ambushed by people who wanted signatures... on their Real Madrid shirts. It was opportune and distasteful, but reflected the bigger picture: the name Bellingham is associated with Jude.
Now Jobe's moment has come. Tuchel picked him partly because of Carsley jabbering on with praise in his ear over recent months. The noise around him has become unavoidable and, with Alex Scott injured and Myles Lewis-Skelly suspended for the first game, the Three Lions are light in midfield.
'To play with my brother for England that would be the biggest dream of my life. Nothing would even get close to that,' Jude said in 2024. That may soon be a reality.
UniverseMan
0
which one is Jude, which one is Jobe? 😂
hesbdisuz
0
hahaha