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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter 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 equivalent formation.

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

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where Southgate's side lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and lost three, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could position him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

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 name of balance.