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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They can but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we developed and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment 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 the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played together, England have won 10, tied three matches and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty 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 operate as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.