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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not within this system, not for the balance that we created and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

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

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot 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 feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force and Kane as the center forward.

No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.