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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, Three Lions boss 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 sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and allowing 14 goals.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which potentially 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 hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.