Walcott shines as England beats Croatia 4-1 in qualifier

Walcott gave England the lead in the 26th minute, taking advantage of a botched clearance from Danijel Pranjic that hit teammate Josip Simunic before falling to the Arsenal forward, who scored with a low shot from a tight angle.

"I decided to play Walcott because I saw him perform well against Andorra and during training," Capello said. "I saw that he is fantastic both physically and mentally."

He added his second in the 60th from a similar position after a perfect pass by Wayne Rooney.

"The first two goals were similar. I tend to cross those a lot but thought I'd be a bit more greedy this time," the 19-year old Walcott said. "For the second goal, it was a great ball by Wayne Rooney."

Rooney then made it 3-0 after taking a neat cross from Ashley Cole to beat Stipe Pletikosa with a crisp shot inside the far post in the 63rd.

It was only the sixth goal for England in four years for the Manchester United striker.

"Rooney played very well. He is in good shape and I'm happy that he scored," Capello said.

"Croatia played like at the Euro this summer," Capello added. "We tried to make it difficult for them, and we did it."

Croatia pulled one back on a counterattack in the 76th, after Darijo Srna sent a pass to substitute Mario Mandzukic, who slotted the ball underneath England goalkeeper David James. Walcott scored his third goal in the 82nd.

"He offers something a bit different," Rooney said of Walcott. "He is probably the quickest player I have seen."

David Beckham replaced Walcott in the 84th. With 105 appearances, the former captain tied Billy Wright for fourth on England's career list.

Croatia defender Robert Kovac was sent off in the 54th when he appeared to hit Joe Cole after a foul. Cole had to be stretched off and was replaced by Jermaine Jenas. Capello said Cole was fine after what appeared to be a serious injury.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic said his team could not break the well-organized England.

"We started well, but after that red card we looked like a broken-down army, both mentally and physically," Bilic said as Croatia lost at home for the first time in a competitive game since becoming again an independent nation in the early 1990s.

"I always said that England has phenomenal players who sometimes do not perform."

For England, the win was a measure of redemption after losing 3-2 to Croatia at Wembley in November last year and 2-0 a year ago in Zagreb. Those defeats led to England missing out on this year's European Championship.

"Tonight was a bit of revenge. It was a great performance and a great result," Rooney said. "You always enjoy a 4-1 victory, especially after what Croatia did to us in the last qualifying campaign."

"You've always got to put 100 percent in," Walcott said. "I'm grateful Capello has given me the opportunity, I've got to take that forward now and keep on improving."

Croatia only threatened on a few occasions, with Vedran Corluka hitting the side netting in the 12th from the right side of the area. England had an appeal for a penalty turned down as Josip Simunic appeared to pull down Emile Heskey in the box