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Having secured six victories in six games, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we created and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ 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 the manager's choices imply that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured together, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and allowing 14 goals.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to support offensive play.

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 likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we view 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 position him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.