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With six wins in six games, zero goals allowed and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's domestic match against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he said that three of the country's best players - 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 might but not in the structure, not maintaining equilibrium that we established and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are highly specialized in their positions. We presently employ with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections imply that the Barcelona loanee and Arsenal's winger are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Gareth Southgate apparently believed they could.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane featured in every England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times and lost three, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

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

The young midfielder has been the primary attacking midfielder because of his strong ball-carrying, ball-striking and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring natural flank operators. Saka and Gordon play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

In midfield behind the attackers, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a disciplined defensive presence and one with more license to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

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

Foden could play as the main forward, which theoretically could enable both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is one way all three could feature together and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming 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, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the attacking midfielder and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the international competition, what seems encouraging is his readiness to exclude star names in the interest of team harmony.