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Having secured six victories in six games, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not with current tactics, not for the balance that we established and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that Marcus Rashford and the Gunners' star are his primary selections on the left and right flank respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 matches the trio have played alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has utilized a 4-2-3-1 formation that changes shape when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and ability to attack the box when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which theoretically could permit both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is an alternative approach all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

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

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

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

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.