England: Can Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden play together?

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel’s selections suggest that Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, on loan to Barcelona, ​​and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka are his first options on the left and right wing respectively, with Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon, Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen.

Can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all seven of England’s matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate’s side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio played alongside each other, England won 10, drew three and lost three, scoring 36 goals and conceding 14. Of those 36 goals, Kane scored 14, Billingham three and Foden two.

However, since Tuchel’s arrival, the only time the three have played together was in the first 74 minutes of his debut. Foden was substituted at 1-0 in the 2-0 win over Albania.

Tuchel is not the first England coach to have to juggle his squad to fit the best players, with Sven-Goran Eriksson constantly trying to find the right balance in midfield.

Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes won the Champions League during their careers in central midfield for Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United respectively from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.

They are considered three of England’s best midfielders, with Gerrard winning 114 caps, Lampard 106 and Scholes 66. However, they have only played in the same England team eight times, with Scholes often moving to the left to accommodate Gerrard and Lampard in the middle.