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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars 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 first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

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

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played together, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

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

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could operate as the central striker, which theoretically could enable 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.

"For Man City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, 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 enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

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 name of balance.