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With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

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

"They might but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we developed and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"For Man City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.