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With six wins from six matches, an unbreached defense and World Cup qualification assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, 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 - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

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

In the 16 matches the stars have performed together, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches 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 transforms formation when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the main number 10 because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which potentially could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the number eight, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

No matter whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.