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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 might claim he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the preparation for Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we keep the structure, they cannot play.

"They can but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are essentially experts in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From guaranteed positions to competitive roles

England's creative talents have been deployed on the flanks for England in the past, but Tuchel's selections suggest that Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options on the wide areas respectively.

So can Bellingham, Foden and Kane operate simultaneously?

Former Three Lions boss certainly thought so.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven fixtures at Euro 2024 in Germany, where the national squad lost to Spain in the final.

In the 16 matches the stars have performed simultaneously, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and allowing 14 goals.

Analysis: Foden's versatility gives Tuchel options

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

The young midfielder has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, strike quality and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has mentioned preferring natural flank operators. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, engage in one-on-one situations, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

What solutions exist for the trio?

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

Foden could play as the central striker, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to operate without the captain.

There is a potential solution all three could feature together and Tuchel suggested it this week.

"With his club, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so potentially in future we consider him as a number eight," he said.

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

That has enabled him to operate from deeper areas and could categorize him as the central midfielder, paired with a defensive anchor.

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the creative force and Kane as the striker.

No matter whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his preparedness to omit established stars in the interest of team harmony.