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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter 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 identical lineup.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

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 primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could position him as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.