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

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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 capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with 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 potentially 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.

"At Manchester City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

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