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With six wins from six matches, no goals conceded and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

So 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 last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that transforms formation when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a central midfielder," 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 central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.