England's star trio can't operate simultaneously - does the manager have a point?

Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they won't fit together.

"They can but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

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 suggest that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times 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 primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.