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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and been defeated three times, 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.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position 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 permit Bellingham to feature as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.