England qualifies for World Cup after routing Croatia

England outplayed Croatia 5-1 to qualify for the World Cup in style on Wednesday, with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard scoring two goals each as Fabio Capello's team maintained a perfect record in qualifying.

Although England needed only a point to guarantee a place in next year's finals in South Africa, they raced into a 2-0 lead by the 18th minute with Lampard's eighth-minute penalty and Gerrard's close-range header. Lampard added a third in the 59th and Gerrard's second header put England out of reach.

England vs. Croatia

Eduardo da Silva replied with a consolation goal for Croatia, but Wayne Rooney added a fifth after goalkeeper Vedran Runje passed straight to him. England also beat Croatia 4-1 in Zagreb a year ago and now has 24 points from eight games with Croatia on 17 from nine. Ukraine (15 points) and Belarus drew 0-0 earlier Wednesday and also can't catch Capello's team, which was in control of this game from the start.

The England coach said he was impressed with "the spirit of the group, the concentration. I was happy for everything."

Because his team qualified with two games to spare, Capello now has nine months to prepare for the World Cup with its frustrated fans still waiting for a first major triumph since England won the title in 1966.

"The competition is hard," Capello said. "We have to play to win. We are England. We have time to prepare for the World Cup. I know the problems playing in the World Cup."

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic is now left to try and qualify through the runners up playoffs, assuming his team finishes second.

"Not even in our worst nightmares have we though that we would fail that much," he said. "But (England) was better in every situation. They absolutely deserved the victory. They were stronger every time, they were faster for one meter at any moment - they were simply better."