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Having secured six victories from six matches, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"They might but not within this system, not for the balance that we created and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and lost three, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

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

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.