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Having secured six victories from six matches, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, Three Lions boss Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has made the right selection choices.

Yet, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he initiated discussion when he stated that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the equivalent formation.

"Presently, if we maintain the formation, they cannot play.

"It's possible but not within this system, not for the balance that we established and not for the structure that comes also with wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with defensive, central, attacking midfielders and striker."

From automatic picks to contested places

England's creative talents have been used in wide positions for England in the past, but the manager's choices suggest that the Barcelona loanee and Bukayo Saka are his primary selections on the wing positions respectively.

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

Former Three Lions boss evidently thought it possible.

Bellingham, Foden and Kane were selected for each England's seven games at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the national squad fell to the Spanish in the final.

In the 16 matches the three have featured alongside each other, England have won 10, shared points three times and been defeated three times, scoring 36 times and conceding 14.

Tactical insight: Foden's flexibility provides alternatives

Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that changes shape when England attack.

The Aston Villa player has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, strike quality and capacity to penetrate the area when the forward retreats.

Tuchel has spoken about preferring dedicated wide players. Saka and Gordon consistently operate in wide areas and can hold the ball well, challenge defenders, and appear in scoring positions.

Behind this front four, Tuchel employs a double pivot consisting of a holding midfielder and one with more license to support offensive play.

So how could Tuchel use these three players?

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

Foden could feature as the number nine, which potentially could enable both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.

There is one way all three could coexist effectively and Tuchel alluded to it this week.

"For Man City, he operates similarly to a box-to-box or creative role, so perhaps in coming months we consider him as a number eight," he said.

Foden has been used in a more all-purpose midfield role this season.

That has permitted him to contribute from midfield and could position him as the central midfielder, next to a more defensive number six.

This would then enable Bellingham to operate as the number 10 and Kane as the center forward.

Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the global tournament, what seems encouraging is his willingness to leave big players out in the name of balance.