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Having secured six victories from six matches, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They might but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

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

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that transforms formation when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

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

Foden could operate as the main forward, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we regard him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.