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With six wins out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we created and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured together, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence 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 creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the central striker, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

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

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.