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Having secured six victories 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 chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"Currently, if we maintain the formation, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the left and right flank respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"For Man City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we consider him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.