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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.