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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, an unbreached defense and a World Cup spot confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim 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 stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

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

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven fixtures at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and lost three, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we view him as a number eight," 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 make him an option as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

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 name of balance.