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With six wins out of six, zero goals allowed and World Cup qualification secured with two group games to spare, England manager Thomas Tuchel can argue he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.

Nevertheless, in the lead-up to Thursday's home game against Serbia, he raised questions when he said that three of the England's elite footballers - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - struggle to perform in the identical lineup.

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

"They might but not within this system, not maintaining equilibrium that we created and not within the framework that incorporates wingers who are like specialists 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 Tuchel's selections suggest that the Manchester United forward and Arsenal's winger are his primary selections on the wide areas respectively.

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

The previous England manager apparently believed they could.

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

In the 16 games the three have featured together, England have triumphed 10 times, shared points three times 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.

The Aston Villa player 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 spoken about preferring specialist wingers. The wide attackers regularly feature on the wings and can retain the ball skillfully, challenge defenders, and arrive in the box to score.

Behind this front four, Tuchel utilizes two central midfielders consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to support offensive play.

What solutions exist for the trio?

Foden and Bellingham would be vying against other creative midfielders for the creative hub, with Kane probably featuring up front.

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

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

"With his club, he plays almost like a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we view 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 make him an option as the advanced playmaker, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the creative force and Kane as the nine.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel decides to set England up like this at the World Cup, what appears positive is his preparedness to omit established stars in the pursuit of tactical equilibrium.