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Having secured six victories in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but his team selections imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the left and right flank respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and lost three, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which potentially could enable 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 plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.