England's star trio struggle to fit in the same lineup - does the manager have a point?

With six wins out of six, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter 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 cannot play.

"They might but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we established 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

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played together, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and lost three, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas 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 a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

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

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.