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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the same team.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we developed and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

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 likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

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

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position 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 number 10 and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.