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Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

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

"They can but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

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

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 ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the central striker, which theoretically could enable 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.

"With his club, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months 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 permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force and Kane as the center forward.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.