Kane, Bellingham and Foden are unable to operate simultaneously - does the manager have a point?

After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee 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 apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that transforms formation when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders 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 vying against attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

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

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.