🔗 Share this article

Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of 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 trio have played together, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

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

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.