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Having secured six victories in six games, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we created and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We currently utilize with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 games the stars have performed together, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license 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 main forward, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"For Man City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, 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 enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

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

Regardless of if Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.