🔗 Share this article

Having secured six victories in six games, no goals conceded and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we created and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and lost three, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

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

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the center forward.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.