It’s not absolutely uncommon for two brothers to clash at the highest level, but it mostly happens at the club level. Take the famous Manchester United duo, Gary and Phil Neville. However, Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham‘s younger brother, Jobe Bellingham, joining Borussia Dortmund, set in motion a clash of epic proportions. You see, Madrid and Dortmund will go head-to-head at the MetLife Stadium this Saturday. Naturally, fans were excited to see the talented English national team players face one another.

Unfortunately, the two Three Lions members won’t become the first brothers to face off at the FIFA Club World Cup. That’s because since joining Borussia Dortmund on June 10, 2025, the younger Bellingham sibling made four appearances during the group stage and the round of 16 matches, but that was all he needed to land in trouble. And this trouble has derailed the much-anticipated clash between the two brothers on the international stage.

Why Jobe Bellingham won’t play against Real Madrid

Where did the 19-year-old rising Dortmund star go wrong, you ask? The midfielder got off to a blistering start for the German club, scoring his first goal for the club during his Dortmund debut against Mamelodi Sundowns. However, Jude Bellingham’s younger brother ended the group stage on a sour note. The phenom picked up a yellow card during Borussia Dortmund’s final group stage game against Ulsan HD.

While that was still ok, things went wrong during his team’s Round of 16 clash against Monterrey on Tuesday. Unfortunately for Jobe Bellingham, another yellow card, despite his team’s 2-1 victory, resulted in a one-match suspension. No points for guessing, but that one match where the 19-year-old won’t be able to walk down the tunnel is Dortmund’s clash with Real Madrid. Against his brother.

The Dortmund midfielder missing the clash against his brother in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Club World Cup means they won’t meet again in the tournament. With both teams fighting for one semi-final berth, either Madrid or Dortmund will progress in the tournament. And if Dortmund beats Madrid, the 19-year-old won’t play a part in it. What’s more? There’s a lot in motion here than just the storyline of the two brothers.

Dortmund’s reaction and Jobe Bellingham’s disappointment

For BVB, there’s a lot more at stake here than the now impossible face-off between two brothers. The upcoming Club World Cup face-off is nothing short of a grudge match for the Bundesliga powerhouse. That’s because Saturday’s quarterfinal at the MetLife Stadium in America will allow the German club to avenge their 2024/25 UEFA Champions League, league stage loss against the La Liga club.

Naturally, Jobe Bellingham’s team is disappointed not to have the youngster at hand for such a high-stakes match. In fact, BVB manager Niko Kovac expressed disappointment on behalf of their midfielder as well. “I think we all saw that he was very disappointed. I think he did not exactly know that the second yellow card is a suspension at half-time. He was a little bit surprised,” Kovac told the press.

“OK, he’s young. His brother is also young, so I’m convinced they will face each other, maybe next season in the Champions League and then in the future. The future is for them,” the Dortmund boss said about Jobe Bellingham and his 22-year-old brother, who’s also scored one goal in the Club World Cup so far. However, teammate Serhou Guirassy’s reaction was far less subtle.

Scoring twice in Dortmund’s 2-1 round of 16 win, Guirassy probably forgot all about Jobe Bellingham’s previous yellow card. After the match, Guirassy wished his teammate the best for the upcoming clash, before a reporter reminded him of the suspension. That’s when it all came crashing down for Guirassy, who said “Ah f—,” as per Goal.com.

It also seems the BVB manager may be a little too optimistic about the brothers meeting on the field anytime soon. Sports Illustrated reported that there’s ‘less than a one-in-four chance’ that the two teams will clash during the league phase next season. Yet, the unfortunate Jobe Bellingham incident aside, Coach Kovac also said that someone else has to replace the 19-year-old, which brings us to their possible starting lineups.

Match Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid

Thankfully, the official FIFA website graciously predicted a possible starting lineup for both teams, and here’s what that looks like.

Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dean Huijsen, Fran Garcia, Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler, Gonzalo Garcia/Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior.

Borussia Dortmund: Gregor Kobel, Julian Ryerson, Niklas Sule, Waldemar Anton, Ramy Bensebaini, Daniel Svensson, Felix Nmecha, Pascal Gross, Marcel Sabitzer, Serhou Guirassy, Karim Adeyemi.

However, there’s a lot more to the Saturday, July 5 match than a list of names. Last time Real Madrid pulled off an epic comeback on the Champions League stage, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to win 5-2. Naturally, Jude and Jobe Bellingham’s teams are putting a lot of thought into the Club World Cup quarterfinal match. “We want to press high and put the opponent under pressure,” said BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel as per Yahoo.

“But especially against a team like Real Madrid, who have so much pace in their ranks, we need to find a better balance,” added the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper. Meanwhile, coach Niko Kovac believes Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso is implementing what he learned at Bayer Leverkusen. “If we put everything on to the pitch, I think that we will have a good chance,” said the BVB manager.

On the flip side, the Madrid manager seemed pleased with the team’s performance against Juventus in the Round of 16. Alonso hopes to keep that momentum going against Dortmund on Saturday. Needless to say, Jobe Bellingham’s elder brother will play a crucial role in the midfield to give his team the edge against the likes of Gregor Kobel. So while the world will miss the brother vs. brother clash on July 5, their teams will give it all for that semi-final spot.