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With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 matches the trio have played simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and lost three, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the number nine, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is a potential solution all three could play in this system and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we consider 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 make him an option as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.