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Having secured six victories in six games, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not within the framework that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his preferred options on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

The previous England manager certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the England team fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 games the stars have performed together, England have triumphed 10 times, tied three matches and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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 impressive ball progression, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom 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 expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the central striker, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been deployed in a versatile central position 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 allow Bellingham to play as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.