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Having secured six victories out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he raised questions when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they are unable to feature.

"They might but not in the structure, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 games the trio have played together, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and lost three, registering 36 scores 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 Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and skill in entering the penalty area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

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

Foden could operate as the central striker, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he functions as a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we consider him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, 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 bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.