🔗 Share this article Kane, Bellingham and Foden are unable to fit in the same lineup - does the manager have a point? Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been key players for England over the recent half-decade Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct. However, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation. "At the moment, 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 within the framework that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine." From guaranteed positions to competitive roles Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wide areas respectively. But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup? Gareth Southgate certainly thought so. Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final. In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, 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 employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack. Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the striker drops deep. Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score. Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack. So how could Tuchel use these three players? Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front. Foden could play as the number nine, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain. There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week. "At Manchester City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a central midfielder," he said. Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season. That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder. This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine. Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.