Thomas Tuchel named his 25 man England squad this week for a double header that matters rather more than most November get-togethers, home to Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and away to Spain four days later. Buried among the usual debate about who should and shouldn't be involved was a story that had nothing to do with form charts or fitness tests at all. For the first time, two brothers from the same family will train together in an England shirt at senior level.
Jude Bellingham has been a fixture in this squad for years. His younger brother Jobe has not, until now. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder, two years Jude's junior, has been handed his first senior call-up after a strong start to the season in Germany, where he has become a regular starter and an increasingly influential figure in Dortmund's midfield. If he features against either Croatia or Spain, the Bellinghams will become the 22nd pair of brothers to play for England's men's team.
Elsewhere in the same squad, a very different story was unfolding. Cole Palmer has been left out again, despite Chelsea's own medical staff reportedly finding him fully fit after he withdrew from England's last camp with what was described as a minor issue. Tuchel insisted the door remains open and that the decision was "not personal", but it is hard to ignore the pattern forming around one of the most gifted attacking players in the country.
Family ties meet first team form
Tuchel did not hide how much the Bellingham story meant to him personally. He described it as an incredible achievement for the family, and for two brothers to be nominated for their country's senior side within the same camp, and spoke warmly about how calm and open Jobe had sounded on the phone when told the news. It is easy to forget, watching Jude become one of the most recognisable midfielders in world football at Real Madrid, that his brother was still playing academy football in England only a few years ago before his own move to Sunderland and then to Dortmund.
Jobe is not simply riding on his surname. Lee Carsley, who has worked with him extensively at Under 21 level and made him captain of that side, has consistently praised his reading of the game and his physical presence. Tuchel sees him as a more defensive minded central midfielder than Jude, someone who retains possession well and offers balance alongside more attacking options further forward. Whether he gets minutes against Croatia or has to wait until Spain, simply being named in the same squad as his brother is already being treated, quite reasonably, as a genuine family landmark rather than a token inclusion.
A pattern Palmer cannot shake
Palmer's situation is harder to frame so warmly. He was overlooked for the summer's tournament squad and has now missed out again for the autumn window, having withdrawn from the previous camp with what was labelled a minor fitness concern at the time. Reports suggest Chelsea's own checks found nothing wrong with him heading into this window, which only sharpens the question of exactly what Tuchel wants to see before picking him again. Some observers believe the manager is making a point about reliability and availability as much as anything to do with ability, given how often Palmer's name has come up in camp only to then disappear from team sheets.
He is not alone in missing out. Phil Foden, overlooked for the summer squad and again now, has six goal involvements in as many Premier League games this season and would walk into most other international squads on current form. Kobbie Mainoo, who withdrew from an earlier camp with an unspecified injury and did not feature at the World Cup despite being selected, also misses out again. Three players with genuine international pedigree, all on the outside looking in, while a teenager with two senior caps worth of experience between them gets his chance.
There were injuries to manage elsewhere too. Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are both unavailable, Trevoh Chalobah and Tino Livramento withdrew, and Alex Scott pulled out with a thigh problem that brought Everton's James Garner into the squad. Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs White and Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha have both come in to help cover the gaps further forward. Ben White returns to the fold at the back after being overlooked since March, when a section of supporters booed his name read out at Wembley, while Trent Alexander-Arnold keeps his place from Real Madrid despite rarely starting there.
What is actually at stake
None of this would matter half as much if the games themselves were meaningless, but they are not. England currently sit second in their Nations League group on nine points, two behind leaders Spain, having already beaten Croatia 7-0 away from home earlier in the campaign and lost 3-2 to Spain in the corresponding fixture in September. Only the top two sides in the group advance to the quarter finals, and with Croatia on three points and Czechia yet to register a win, England's position looks reasonably secure. Reasonably secure is not the same as safe, though, and a poor result against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday would put unwanted pressure on the trip to Spain four days later.
It all adds up to a window with genuine stakes attached to it, even without a World Cup place up for grabs this time around. Tuchel has shown, through the Bellingham call-up and the continued absence of Palmer and Foden, that reputation alone will not guarantee a place in his squad. Form, fitness and application are being weighed carefully, and for players on the fringes that should be taken as encouragement as much as a warning. For Jobe Bellingham, whatever happens against Croatia or Spain, the hard part is already behind him. Getting into the squad alongside his brother was never going to be easy. Staying there will be harder still.
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