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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we created and not for the structure that comes also with 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 utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have won 10, tied three matches and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores 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.

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

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, 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 creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider 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 make him an option as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.