England's star trio can't play together - is Tuchel right?

With six wins in six games, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

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

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.