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With six wins 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.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the same team.

"At the moment, if we stick with the system, they are unable to feature.

"It's possible but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We currently utilize with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wing positions respectively.

But can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the stars have performed alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, drawn three and suffered three losses, netting 36 goals and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

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

Morgan Rogers 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 mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers consistently operate in wide areas and can retain the ball skillfully, take their full-back on, and arrive in the box to score.

Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and one with more license to join the forward movement.

Potential configurations for England's stars

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

Foden could feature as the central striker, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a number eight or 10, so potentially in future we view him as a central midfielder," he said.

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

That has allowed him to take responsibility deeper and could make him an option as the number eight, alongside a holding midfielder.

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

No matter whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what bodes well is his willingness to leave big players out in the interest of team harmony.