Three Lions' top talents are unable to play together - is Tuchel right?
After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.
Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.
"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.
"They can but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."
From automatic picks to contested places
Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.
The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?
Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.
Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.
In the 16 fixtures the trio have played simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.
Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options
Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack.
The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.
Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.
Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.
What solutions exist for the trio?
Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.
Foden could feature as the number nine, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.
There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.
"For Man City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.
Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.
That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.
This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.
Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.
