What Fans Are Saying After Jobe Bellingham’s First Borussia Dortmund Start

Jobe Bellingham, despite insisting that he wanted to carve out a career of his own, has followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Jude, by joining Borussia Dortmund – but what have fans made of his first start for the Bundesliga side?

Looking to secure silverware this summer, Niko Kovac’s men travelled Stateside to compete in the new-look iteration of the FIFA Club World Cup and, after their opening stalemate against Fluminense, they took on Mamelodi Sundowns.

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His “English toughness” was a talking point.

It marked their first victory of the competition – having defeated the South African outfit 4-3 – but it was also Bellingham’s inaugural start as he lined up alongside Pascal Gross and Felix Nmecha in his side’s three-man midfield constellation.

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The 19-year-old doubled his side’s lead on the cusp of half-time

Many eyes were on the teenage star as he officially kick-started his career for the German side, who his brother Jude played for between the respective summers of 2020 and 2023 – and it’s not unfair to say that he lived up to the lofty expectations.

Helping Kovac’s men to double their lead on the cusp of the half-time whistle, Bellingham was in the right place at the right time. A threatening cross was parried out by the goalkeeper and, evading a defender in the process, he chested it down.

Without a second thought, his effort left the glovesman rooted to the spot – but his strike aside, the four-cap England U21 international impressed from a statistical standpoint. Watch his goal, in full, below:

Before being substituted in the 84th minute, making way for Maximilian Beier, Bellingham may have only taken 27 touches of the ball but his off-ball movement – something that d do not data and numbers pick up on – was impressive. Alas, he won 50% (2/4) of his ground duels while posting a pass accuracy of 85% – 17/20.

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‘What’s the difference between Jude Bellingham & Jobe Bellingham?!’

His inexperience in mind, much was made of his summer transfer from the newly promoted Sunderland to Borussia Dortmund, but any critique has been put to the side after his performance at the TQL Stadium on Saturday. One fan’s glowing assessment read:

“Jobe Bellingham is good. What a star. Getting past 4 players like they weren’t there.” Another called him ‘very talented’: “Jobe Bellingham is a very talented midfielder, he will definitely have a good career of his own.”

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Referencing the likeness between the 19-year-old and Jude – who is two years his senior – another excited fan wondered whether there was much of a difference between the Stourbridge-born pair, who likely dream of playing alongside one another one day.

Accompanied by the heart-eyed emoji, another supporter said: “Jobe Bellingham can play.” A final fan waxed lyrical about the Bellingham genes given how similar the brothers are: “Genes be doing some crazy things. Jobe Bellingham moves and players just like Jude.”

All statistics per Sofascore – correct as of 21/06/2025