🔗 Share this article

With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not within the framework that also includes 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 used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the left and right flank respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures 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 been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

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

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, 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 holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months 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 enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what bodes well is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.