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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium 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

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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

Foden could feature as the number nine, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard 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, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.