🔗 Share this article

With six wins in six games, no goals conceded and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we established and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and lost three, netting 36 goals and allowing 14 goals.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two 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 competing with attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a number eight or 10, 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 permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.