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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers play out wide weekly 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 another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we view him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.