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With six wins in six games, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's home game 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.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate 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?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"For Man City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could position him as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.