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With six wins out of six, no goals conceded and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

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

"They can but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 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 been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

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 main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom 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 operate as the number nine, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

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

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force 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.