🔗 Share this article

Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed 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 cannot play.

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.