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Having secured six victories out of six, no goals conceded and tournament placement assured before the final rounds, England manager Thomas Tuchel might claim he has chosen wisely throughout qualification.

However, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he raised questions when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - are unable to feature in the equivalent formation.

"At the moment, if we keep the structure, they won't fit together.

"It's possible but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we developed and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We currently utilize with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."

From certain starters to fighting for spots

England's creative talents have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but the manager's choices indicate that the Manchester United forward and the Gunners' star are his first choices on the wide areas respectively.

The question remains whether Bellingham, Foden and Kane play together?

Gareth Southgate evidently thought it possible.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured simultaneously, England have triumphed 10 times, drawn three and suffered three losses, registering 36 scores and conceding 14.

Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.

Morgan Rogers has been the main number 10 because of his impressive ball progression, ball-striking and ability to attack the box when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. The Arsenal and Newcastle stars play out wide weekly and can maintain possession effectively, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of one defensively strict player and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze for the creative hub, with Kane expected to lead up front.

Foden could play as the main forward, which in theory could allow both Bellingham and Foden to feature instead of Kane.

There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a central or attacking midfielder, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a central midfielder," he said.

Foden has been utilized as a flexible midfielder this season.

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

This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel opts to structure the side like this at the World Cup, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.