England's star trio can't play together - does the manager have a point?

After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to 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 - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"Currently, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

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 imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and lost three, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a central midfielder," 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 central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the name of balance.