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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and lost three, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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 strong ball-carrying, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

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 pursuit of tactical equilibrium.