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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we established and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

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 the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured simultaneously, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and letting in 14 strikes.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that alters structure when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and skill in entering the penalty area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to join the forward movement.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

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

There is one way all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a central midfielder," 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 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.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.