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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"They might but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wing positions 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 fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed simultaneously, England have won 10, drawn three and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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

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

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, 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 allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.