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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured simultaneously, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and letting in 14 strikes.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders 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 a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider him as a box-to-box player," 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 make him an option as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.