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With six wins from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

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

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

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed alongside each other, England have won 10, tied three matches and lost three, netting 36 goals 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.

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with 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 potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.