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Having secured six victories in six games, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the same team.

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

"They might but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is one way all three could play in this system and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a number eight," 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 position him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.