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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they won't fit together.

"They can but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we view him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder 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 enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.