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With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Yet, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.

"Presently, if we stick with the system, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

Foden and Bellingham have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options 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 games at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and letting in 14 strikes.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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 number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly 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 a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could play as the number nine, 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 hinted at it this week.

"At Manchester City, he functions as a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.