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With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, 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 equivalent formation.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that incorporates 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

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the left and right flank respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

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

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a number eight," 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 number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.