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With six wins in six games, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

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

"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 play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed alongside each other, England have won 10, tied three matches and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

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

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a central midfielder," 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 attacking midfielder and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.