🔗 Share this article

With six wins from six matches, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the build-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 - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize 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 the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, tied three matches and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively 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 regard him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

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

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 name of balance.