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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we view him as a box-to-box player," 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 central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.