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With six wins out of six, no goals conceded and World Cup qualification confirmed with matches remaining, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they won't fit together.

"They might but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we developed and not for the structure that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with specific numbered positions."

From automatic picks to contested places

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices imply that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at the European Championship in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 fixtures the stars have performed alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that transforms formation when England attack.

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and a partner with attacking liberty to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane probably featuring up front.

Foden could feature as the number nine, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

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

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so maybe during the next months we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could categorize him as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.