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With six wins in six games, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the trio have played simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and been defeated three times, 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.

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we regard him as a box-to-box player," 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, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.