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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - 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.

"They can but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ 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 his team selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.