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With six wins from six matches, zero goals allowed and a World Cup spot assured before the final rounds, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"Currently, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we established 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 automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars regularly feature on the wings and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we regard him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the striker.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.