Bellingham, Foden & Kane can’t all start in current system – Tuchel

Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane cannot start together in England’s current system, says boss Thomas Tuchel.

Real Madrid’s Bellingham and Manchester City’s Foden were both recalled to the squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania.

Tuchel said on Wednesday that Bellingham and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers are in competition for the number 10 role, while last week the German said he no longer saw Foden as a winger, but instead “a mix between a number nine and a 10”.

When asked if that meant Bellingham, Foden and captain Kane could play together, Tuchel told TalkSport: “At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

Under Tuchel, England have played a 4-3-3 system with wingers on each side of striker Kane.

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka is the first choice to play on the right, with either Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon or Barcelona’s Marcus Rashford on the left.

It means there will be fierce competition for who plays behind Kane in the number 10 role, with a high-profile name potentially missing out on the World Cup squad.

Tuchel mentioned Bellingham, Rogers and Foden as options at number 10, as well as Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, who currently has a groin injury, and Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, who was left out of the latest squad. Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze is another candidate in the current squad.

The German said it was very unlikely he would select five number 10s in his World Cup squad, adding: “I don’t see how this will help us.”

He said anyone missing out will not be “because they don’t individually deserve it” but because he will “always do what’s best for winning”.

“We will always do what’s best for balance and we will try to keep the clarity, even if it means that we have to take tough decisions,” he added.

“We take tough decisions in any camp, and this will not change when we go to a tournament.”

Tuchel did add he saw Foden as playing as a hybrid between an eight and a number 10 for City and so “maybe during the next months” he could be considered to play in a midfield role.

England qualified for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico with two games to spare.

They host Serbia at Wembley on Thursday before a trip to Albania on Sunday.