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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the same team.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not in the structure, not for the balance that we created and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have won 10, tied three matches and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, 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 vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"For Man City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.