🔗 Share this article Kane, Bellingham and Foden can't operate simultaneously - what's the verdict? Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been key players for England over the past five years With six wins in six games, no goals conceded and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices. However, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup. "At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play. "They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine." From guaranteed positions to competitive roles England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively. The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together? Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so. Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final. In the 16 fixtures the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and lost three, registering 36 scores 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 main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws. Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions. Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot 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 battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front. Foden could operate as the number nine, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane. There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week. "With his club, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said. Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season. That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could position him as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six. This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the center forward. Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.