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With six wins out of six, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match 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 same team.

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

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are essentially experts 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 used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

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 games the three have featured simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

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 main forward, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we consider 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 make him an option as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.