England boss Thomas Tuchel has declared that Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden cannot all play in the same team.
The Three Lions have already sealed their place at next year’s World Cup and will look to round off a perfect qualifying campaign when they host Serbia on Thursday and visit Albania on Sunday.
Foden has not been selected by Tuchel since March, despite enjoying a resurgence with Manchester City in recent weeks.
Bellingham, meanwhile, has not played for England since June, after a shoulder operation caused him to miss the start of Real Madrid’s season.
After an uninspiring start to life under Tuchel, England burst into life with a 5-0 rout of Serbia in September, in a game that saw Morgan Rogers, Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon start behind Kane in a 4-2-3-1 system.
On Thursday, Tuchel told reporters that he would gladly omit big-name players from his squad if they do not fit his system, and he went one step further in an interview with TalkSPORT.
“At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play,” said Tuchel about Kane, Bellingham and Foden.
“They can, but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed. Not for the structure that also comes with wingers who are like specialists in their positions.
“At the moment, we play with a number six, a number eight, a number 10 and a number nine.”
Kane, Bellingham and Foden all started all seven of England’s games at Euro 2024, when they reached the final and lost 2-1 to Spain.
Foden failed to supply a goal involvement and was roundly criticised, while Kane (three goals) and Bellingham (two goals, one assist) supplied three apiece.
“There is a lot of congruence, especially in the number 10 position, if you think about Phil can play there, you think about Jude, you think about Morgan Rogers, who played fantastic for us in this position,” Tuchel said of his options.
“You have Cole Palmer, you have Morgan Gibbs-White, so there is a lot of players and there is the chance that we will not take everyone.
“Not because we don’t like them, not because they don’t individually deserve it, but we will always do what’s best for the team.
“We 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.”
Tuchel said the five players listed above are unlikely to all make the cut when he names his squad, though he added Foden’s versatility may work in his favour.
“If you’re a unique player, you can play both positions – I think he can play the nine, he can play the 10, it gives him an advantage to compete for both positions.
“For Man City he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we consider him as an eight.
“But again, I see a very low percentage that we take five number 10s into a tournament. I don’t see how this will help.”
