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After achieving six consecutive triumphs from six matches, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the same team.

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

"It's possible but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we developed and not in this formation that comes also with wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment 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 his team selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

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

In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and suffered three losses, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

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

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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

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

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel hinted at it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the number eight, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

Regardless of if Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.