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With six wins out of six, an unbreached defense and tournament placement confirmed with matches remaining, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel might claim he has made the right selection choices.

However, in the preparation for Thursday's home game against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed that three of the country's best players - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we maintain the formation, they are unable to feature.

"They can but not within this system, not for the balance that we developed and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From automatic picks to contested places

Foden and Bellingham have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane started all of England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where Southgate's side were defeated by Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed alongside each other, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and been defeated three times, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

Tuchel has played a 4-2-3-1 system that changes shape when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the number nine withdraws.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, take their full-back on, and enter the area to finish.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

Foden and Bellingham would be competing with attacking alternatives for the number 10 role, with Kane likely to start up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could permit 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.

"At Manchester City, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, 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 enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could make him an option as the advanced playmaker, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then allow Bellingham to play as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Regardless of if Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the international competition, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.