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Having secured six victories from six matches, an unbreached defense and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they won't fit together.

"They can but not with current tactics, not preserving harmony that we established and not within the framework that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

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 preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane coexist in the lineup?

Former Three Lions boss apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and allowing 14 goals.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his strong ball-carrying, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and another with greater freedom to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could feature as the main forward, which potentially could permit both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"For Man City, he functions as 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 deployed in a versatile central position this season.

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could position 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 chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what bodes well is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.