🔗 Share this article

With six wins in six games, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.