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Having secured six victories in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not for the balance that we created and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed alongside each other, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

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 main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to support offensive play.

Potential configurations for England's stars

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

Foden could play as the central striker, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view 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 permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.