England's star trio struggle to operate simultaneously - does the manager have a point?
Having secured six victories in six games, no goals conceded and tournament placement secured with two group games to spare, national team coach Thomas Tuchel could suggest he has got all of his big qualifying decisions correct.
Nevertheless, in the build-up to Thursday's Wembley encounter against Serbia, he sparked a debate when he claimed that three of the nation's top talents - Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane - cannot play in the identical lineup.
"Presently, if we stick with the system, they won't fit together.
"They can but not within this system, not preserving harmony that we created and not for the structure that also includes wingers who are like specialists in their positions. We play at the moment with a six, eight, a 10 and a nine."
From certain starters to fighting for spots
The Manchester City and Real Madrid stars have been utilized out wide for England in the past, but his team selections imply that the Manchester United forward and Bukayo Saka are his preferred options 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 started all of England's seven matches at last summer's tournament in Germany, where the England team lost to Spain in the final.
In the 16 games the trio have played alongside each other, England have secured 10 victories, tied three matches and been defeated three times, registering 36 scores and allowing 14 goals.
Strategic view: Versatile Foden offers solutions
Tuchel has employed a four-two-three-one setup that alters structure when England attack.
The young midfielder has been the key creative force because of his excellent dribbling, shooting ability and capacity to penetrate the area when the striker drops deep.
Tuchel has discussed favoring specialist wingers. Saka and Gordon regularly feature on the wings and can hold the ball well, engage in one-on-one situations, and arrive in the box to score.
Supporting the attacking quartet, Tuchel plays with a midfield two consisting of a holding midfielder and another with greater freedom to contribute to the attack.
Potential configurations for England's stars
Foden and Bellingham would be battling with other creative midfielders for the attacking midfield position, with Kane expected to lead up front.
Foden could feature as the main forward, which in theory could permit both Bellingham and Foden to play at Kane's expense.
There is an alternative approach all three could play in this system and Tuchel hinted at it this week.
"For Man City, he functions as a central or attacking midfielder, so potentially in future we consider him as a box-to-box player," 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, next to a more defensive number six.
This would then permit Bellingham to feature as the number 10 and Kane as the nine.
Irrespective of whether Tuchel chooses to configure the team like this at the World Cup, what bodes well is his preparedness to omit established stars in the name of balance.
