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With six wins from six matches, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they cannot play.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven matches at the European Championship in Germany, where the national squad were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

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 play as the number nine, which in theory could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"For Man 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 permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

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