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After achieving six consecutive triumphs from six matches, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they cannot play.

"They can but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we developed and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and suffered three losses, 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.

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start 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 a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.