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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

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

"It's possible but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize 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 his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 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 letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that transforms formation when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

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 arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable 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 central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize 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 decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.