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Having secured six victories in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"It's possible but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment 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 his team selections indicate that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that transforms formation when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position 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 nine.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.