Manager Thomas Tuchel issued a stern warning to his star players. They can’t all start with the same starting lineup. The England manager has made it abundantly clear that there is not enough room to have Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden in the line-up at the same time. Tuchel said his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation did not allow all three players to fit together, leaving their place in Thursday night’s game against Serbia and next year’s World Cup uncertain.
“If we maintain the structure we have at the moment, they won’t be able to play. We don’t like that, not because they individually don’t deserve it, but we always do what’s best for the team and we always do what’s best for the win. We always do what’s best for the balance and try to be clear even if we have to make tough decisions. We make tough decisions in every camp and this will be the same going into the tournament,” Tuchel said.
The England manager views Kane as a traditional centre-forward, while Foden and Bellingham are seen as natural No. 10s who play in the playmaker position behind the striker. Foden is also currently thought to be able to replace Kane as part of a false nine, but the days of Manchester City’s star player being deployed wide are over.
Former manager Gareth Southgate tried to get as many of them into the squad as possible, while former caretaker manager Lee Carsley tried to select them all, but it ended in disaster as England lost at home to Greece. Tuchel has made it clear that although his players could feature in different formations, they certainly do not fit into his current tactical plans.
He stressed that attempts to please everyone often fail and that recent experience has highlighted the importance of maintaining harmony within the team. “I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s very likely that we will stick with our structure. We have six, eight, nine, 10 players and we have two wingers,” Tuchel said.
“We’ve shown from the two camps what stability and balance within the team is. This is where we are at the moment. When you think of Phil in the number 10 position and being able to play there, when you think of Jude, you think of Morgan Rodgers, who played very well in that position.”
“We’ve got Cole Palmer, we’ve got Morgan Gibbs-White, we’ve got a lot of players and we might not get them all.
“I think Phil can play as a number nine and he can also play as a number 10. First of all, it gives him the advantage to compete for both positions. For Man City, he almost plays like a number eight or a number 10, so we will probably see him as a number eight for the next few months.”
“But again, I think the odds of having five No. 10 players in the No. 10 position playing in the tournament are very, very, very low. I don’t see how this is going to help.”
