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With six wins out of six, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the lead-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 - are unable to feature in the same team.

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

"They can 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 presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

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

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.