England qualified for the World Cup at Wembley last night outplaying Croatia 5-1 as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard scored two goals each.

England needed only a point to guarantee a place in next year's tournament in South Africa, but it took a 2-0 lead by the 18th minute on Lampard's eighth-minute penalty kick and Gerrard's close-range header.

In the second half, both midfielders headed home to maintain England's perfect record of eight wins from eight games in the qualifiers.

Arsenal striker Eduardo pulled a goal back for Croatia but Wayne Rooney restored England's four-goal advantage with a simple shot after the Croatia goalkeeper Runje miss-kicked a back pass.

Croatia now has to fight with Ukraine for the second group place and a play-off for passage to the tournament in South Africa next year.