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Having secured six victories from six matches, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot 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 lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony 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 guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.