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With six wins from six matches, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, national team coach Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the same team.

"Currently, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are essentially experts 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 utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections indicate that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven matches at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three 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 transforms formation when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his strong ball-carrying, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player 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 attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a number eight or 10, so perhaps in coming months we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could make him an option as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.