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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter 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 maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are essentially experts 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 deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the stars have performed together, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.