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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

"Currently, if we maintain the formation, they won't fit together.

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not in this formation that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed simultaneously, England have won 10, drawn three 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 Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, 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.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

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

"With his club, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we regard him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

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

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.