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Having secured six victories from six matches, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the country's best players - 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.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and lost three, 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 strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

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 competing with other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.