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Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

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 Tuchel's selections imply that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the left and right flank respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player 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 creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months 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 position him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.