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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed together, England have won 10, shared points three times and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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 impressive ball progression, ball-striking 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 enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

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 likely to start up front.

Foden could operate as the main forward, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"At Manchester City, he functions as a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.