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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

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

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

But 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 the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured simultaneously, England have won 10, tied three matches and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, 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 join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"With his club, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the name of balance.