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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter 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 equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we created and not in this formation 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

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played together, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.