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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that comes also with 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 utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

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

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

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

There is an alternative approach all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.