Fabio Capello turned to Gareth along with Messrs Hart, Johnson, Lescott, Milner and Wright-Phillips to give the national side a distinct shade of sky blue.
Adam Johnson put England two ahead with his second goal in as many games, while fellow substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips made a big impact in his short time on the pitch by laying on Darren Bent’s clincher late on.
“It was brilliant for the club to have so many players on the pitch - and shows the quality we have got at City,” declared Gareth.
It is great to have a core of English players. All the top teams over the years have had that spine of English players and been successful.
...Gareth on City’s super six
“We’ve got to work hard and hopefully we can achieve something like that.”
The game in Basle was Gareth’s 42nd appearance for England, but the impact of team-mate Johnson for both club and country since his move from Middlesbrough earlier this year provoked warm praise.
“Adam joined us in the winter with little experience at this level and he just keeps growing in stature,” Gareth adds.
“For the future, he can get better and better. His confidence keeps growing. The more he plays, the better he will get. Hopefully he will get more (game) time and the goals will keep coming.”
With two big games in the space of a few days for England now over with, Gareth’s thoughts are now turning to domestic matters and the visit of Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. With the internationals being shifted to a day earlier than in previous years, there’s extra time to prepare and Gareth is grateful.
“The players will benefit in having an extra day before the weekend. The lads spoke about that when we met up and overall we prefer the Friday-Tuesday games. It gives you the extra rest. It was a good decision by whoever made it,” he concludes.
With thanks to Simon Stone.
