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With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the build-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 - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence 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 number 10 role, with Kane likely to start 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 operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.