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After achieving six consecutive triumphs out of six, 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.

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

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They can but not in the structure, not for the balance that we established and not in this formation that also includes wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We presently employ with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but his team selections indicate that Marcus Rashford and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Gareth Southgate certainly thought so.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have secured 10 victories, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can maintain possession effectively, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and a partner with attacking liberty to join the forward movement.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.

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

There is a potential solution all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so maybe during the next months we view him as a box-to-box player," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could categorize him as the central midfielder, alongside a holding midfielder.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.