Thomas Tuchel has given a first England call-up to Jobe Bellingham, admitting the midfielder’s older brother, Jude, had nagged him to do so, as he set up the prospect of their family dream being realised.

Tuchel’s inclusion of the younger Bellingham for the Nations League ties against Croatia and Spain was further evidence of his shift away from the squad that served him well at the World Cup last summer and towards a fresh dynamic for the mission to win Euro 2028. The manager has named a 25-man group for the game against Croatia at Wembley on Thursday and the one against Spain in Madrid three days after; of the 22 outfield players, only 11 were at the World Cup.

Jobe Bellingham, the England Under-21s captain, has impressed for Borussia Dortmund this season and Jude is on record as saying how much it would mean if they could play together for their country, especially at a major tournament. “It would be the biggest dream of my life,” he said. “It would mean more than any of the trophies I have won.”

Tuchel said the brothers coming together in his England squad was a “beautiful story” and he wondered whether Jobe’s presence could inspire Jude to even greater heights. “Let’s see what the effect is,” Tuchel said. “Jude always behaves like a big brother, taking care of his younger brother. I think that helps Jobe now in camp. And it will be beautiful for Jude to have his brother close.

“Me and Jude spoke about his brother because I was aware it was always his dream [to play for England with Jobe]. Jude was always like: ‘Watch him, watch him, he’s good, he can make it.’ I would say: ‘Yeah, we are watching him.’ And we know, of course, [about him] from Lee Carsley [the under-21s manager].”

Tuchel described Jobe as “maybe more a No 8 than a classic 6 and less of a 10”. He noted that with Myles Lewis-Skelly suspended against Croatia, Jobe’s chances of being involved were higher. It has been 19 years since Gary and Phil Neville were the last brothers to play together for England.

Tuchel accidentally referred to Jobe as “Jube” at one point, a slip that will doubtless be made by others, and said it was a special moment to break the news of the call-up to him on a video call. “He couldn’t stop smiling,” Tuchel said. “He has the same beautiful smile as Jude.”

It is clear that Tuchel’s relationship with Jude Bellingham is on a secure footing, as opposed to this time last year when the player’s place in the squad was in doubt – and certainly his spot in the XI. “It was a bit of an up and down [relationship] but we are in a good place,” Tuchel said. “I hope we have finished with the down. You never know as a coach!”

More broadly, Tuchel looked reinvigorated after the success of the September/October camp when his team won three out of four Nations League ties to all but guarantee a place in the quarter-finals. Tuchel had been tense at the start of the get-together as he was assailed by the fallout from the World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina.

He made some ruthless decisions in September, discarding Noni Madueke, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney from the squad he took to the World Cup. Dean Henderson, Dan Burn and Jordan Henderson, picked in the summer and fit again, have been left out, while Kobbie Mainoo and Nico O’Reilly, who is a managing an injury, were also not selected. He overlooked Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. Missing through injury are Reece James, Tino Livramento, John Stones, Trevoh Chalobah, Alex Scott, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford.

Tuchel has placed an emphasis on youth in his post-World Cup selections and he added Josh King to the squad on Friday. The 19-year-old attacking midfielder’s only previous involvement was at the pre-World Cup training camp in Florida. Tuchel has also given a recall to the more experienced right-back Ben White.

It was put to Tuchel that his squad had the look of an England 2.0. “It has to be like this,” he said. “We said at some point that we need to take the next step, otherwise you’re left behind. You need to bring in new players for competition; young players, fresh energy. I was a bit worried in the last camp because we were missing so many internal leaders but the group did excellently in a new style, in a new leadership way but in their style. Now there’s a little bit of proof of concept. We give the players the opportunity and responsibility.”

Tuchel namechecked his current leaders as Harry Kane, Saka, Jude Bellingham, Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guéhi. He said he had spoken to them on day one of the last camp – although not Rice, because he had withdrawn – about the need for them “to make sure we have the same standards as at the World Cup”.

Were the seven players the leadership group? “Per se,” Tuchel replied. “I said straight away that I want to have a group that starts matches regularly. These were the players – without having a guarantee. But I said: ‘I want you to start these matches and you make sure that the energy, attitude, the standards within the group are at the highest level.’ That has not changed. So they are basically a leadership group on the field.”

Tuchel said Palmer’s exclusion was “not personal … but the competition is on. It’s about the ones who walk the walk and come to camp”. He made it sound as if Foden was closer to a recall.

“Phil is always an option because I’m in love with him as a player,” Tuchel said. “It was very close. It’s also close for Eberechi Eze to keep his place with us. He’s not starting for Arsenal. The advantage was maybe that Eberechi and Morgan Gibbs-White were in camp last time. They need to fight for it. That’s what we want. And Phil is always close.”

Tuchel also commented on Mainoo’s omission. He took the midfielder to the World Cup but did not play him. “He was hugely disappointed from the World Cup and deservedly so,” Tuchel said. “I said in front of the team and the staff: ‘Sorry, I didn’t pick you. You did nothing wrong. That is on me.’ I think it cost him a bit of confidence. Then he pulled out of the last camp when I was desperate to include him in this new start. And then he entered a difficult spell. He was injured and Man United fell off a cliff a little bit performance-wise.”