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Having secured six victories out of six, zero goals allowed and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions 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 won't fit together.

"It's possible but not within this system, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized 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 utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the left and right flank respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven matches at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, drawn three and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

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

Foden could play as the number nine, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"For Man City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a number eight," 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 advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether 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.