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With six wins from six matches, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of one defensively strict player 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 probably featuring up front.

Foden could operate 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.

"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider him as a box-to-box player," 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 categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.