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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are essentially experts 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 deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and allowing 14 goals.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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 impressive ball progression, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

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

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we consider him as a central midfielder," 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 position him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.