🔗 Share this article Three Lions' top talents struggle to play together - is Tuchel right? Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden have been crucial figures for England over the recent half-decade Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices. Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation. "Currently, if we keep the structure, they cannot play. "It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with specific numbered positions." From certain starters to fighting for spots England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively. But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together? Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could. Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each 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 stars have performed alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14. Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack. The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws. Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions. Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to support offensive play. Potential configurations for England's stars Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front. Foden could operate as the number nine, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense. There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week. "For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said. Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder 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 permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force 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.