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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

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

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

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

In the 16 matches the three have featured together, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

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

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

"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we consider 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, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.