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With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

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

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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 impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is an alternative approach all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the center forward.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.