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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections imply that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

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 were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed together, England have won 10, shared points three times and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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

Foden could feature as the main forward, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the name of balance.