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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, 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 - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They can but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which in theory could allow 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.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.