🔗 Share this article

With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

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

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured simultaneously, England have won 10, tied three matches and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that transforms formation when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

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

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.