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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

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

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores 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.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he plays almost like 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 central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

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

No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.