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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated 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 are unable to feature.

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, 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 one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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 operate as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.