Emphatic England Qualify with 5-1 Romp
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100 per cent record as Capello makes it 8 wins from 8.
England claimed an historic victory at Wembley last night, smashing opponents Croatia 5-1 to comprehensively claim their spot at next summer’s World Cup in South Africa.
Fabio Capello’s squad maintained their 100 per cent winning record with their eighth win on the trot. The campaign to World Cup glory has been faultless, with an impeccable 31 goals scored for just five in return.
The heartbreak of two years ago, when Croatia embarrassed England on home turf 3-2, denying them England qualification to the Euro 2008 championships, was erased last night in a blaze of glory. A dominant first half with goals from Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard put England ahead 2-0 within 18 minutes.
Another goal each for the midfield duo, who previous to Capello, were said to be the “problem” of English football, competing for the same position, put the game beyond doubt. Arsenal striker Eduardo got a consolation goal before Wayne Rooney slotted an easy tap-in to seal a 5-1 victory.
England were not the only team to continue their 100 per cent record last night, as Spain dismantled Estonia comfortably 3-0 to also guarantee qualification last night. Scotland were denied a chance of the play-offs after losing narrowly to Holland 1-0; Norway stole second place in Group 9, beating Scotland on goal difference.
With two more qualifying matches left for the European teams, a number of groups are still in close contention for the automatic qualifying spots. Germany and Russia are both in the running to win Group 4 with a crucial crunch match in Russia to be played between the two in October.
Big names, France, Turkey and Portugal could all potentially miss qualification if they fail to perform in the next round of matches.
