England qualify for World Cup with Croatia thumping

England 5 Croatia 1. The first stage of Fabio Capello's job is now done, as England thumped their supposed Group 6 nemesis Croatia 5-1 at Wembley last night in a performance of assurance and total control that qualified them for the world Cup in South Africa next year with two games left to play.

Despite inauspicious omens - Croatia were the only team to have beaten England in a competitive game at the new stadium, the abject 3-2 defeat in November 2007 that thankfully saw then manager Steve McClaren sacked - England took the game by the scruff of its neck, and could have had a penalty after four minutes, when Steven Gerrard's pass was handled just on the edge of the Croatia penalty box.

Three minutes later, Aaron Lennon, a livewire all night on the right side of midfield, cut inside and was brought down for a cast-iron spot kick that Frank Lampard emphatically hammered past Vedran Runje. Little more than ten minutes had past before Lennon again crossed into the box to complete a clever one-two with Gerrard, whose header back across goal eluded the Croatian keeper.

England could have gone in at half time five goals to the good, such was their domination of the visitors, who were a shadow of the team that boasted the most parsimonious defence at Euro 2008. A Lampard shot was palmed away, before Runje three times denied Lennon and Emile Heskey when they had been released by clever balls through the tattered Croatian defence. For Heskey's famously fragile confidence, the lack of goals while all around him were filling their boots, and England benchwarmer Jermain Defoe is notching a goal a game for Spurs, could soon prove too much.

The Croatians came out after half time with some more purpose to them, and enjoyed a ten-minute in which they stretched England across the pitch with some smart passing and movement, and should have had a penalty when Eduardo was manhandled to the ground by Glen Johnson. But just on the hour mark Lampard struck again with another header, this time from Johnson's intelligent cut back from the right, and the fight evaporated from the visitors.

Gerrard notched up a brace for himself in the 66th minute, receiving a return ball from Wayne Rooney which he looped past Runje for his second header of the game, and with Defoe finally on for Heskey it looked like England could help themselves to goals. Instead the Croats pulled a goal back through Eduardo after finding space down the England right - more questions about Johnson, who went missing - and beating Robert Green on the third attempt after two reaction saves from the West Ham stopper.

Wayne Rooney scored his ninth goal of the qualifying campaign, an England record, on 77 minutes when the luckless Runji sliced a back-pass straight into the ruthless striker's path and the Manchester United man made no mistake, and nor had England on a near-perfect night of football.