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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They can but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we developed and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with specific numbered positions."

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 the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, shared points three times and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that transforms formation when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with attacking alternatives for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is an alternative approach all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

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

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

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

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.