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With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, drawn three 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 alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player 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 spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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 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 enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

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

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.