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With six wins in six games, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they cannot play.

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we developed and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played together, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom 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 attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"With his club, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.