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Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"They can but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we developed and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the trio have played together, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

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

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could operate as the number nine, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the international competition, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.