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With six wins out of six, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.