Frank Lampard put the hosts in front with a seventh-minute penalty and Steven Gerrard doubled their advantage 11 minutes later.

Chelsea midfielder Lampard scored his second of the night on 59 minutes to extend the gap and Gerrard also completed his brace seven minutes past the hour mark to add the fourth.

Wayne Rooney completed the rout 13 minutes from time as Fabio Capello's England made it eight wins out of eight to secure passage to next year's South Africa finals.

They have 24 points from eight games, seven ahead of second-placed Croatia who have a game in hand.

Croatia will be looking to hold onto their second place to go through a playoff that could enable them to reach the World Cup.

EURO 2008 winners Spain also qualified for the football's biggest event after crushing Estonia 3-0 at home.

Goals from Cesc Fabregas, Santi Cazorla and Juan Mata gave them an easy victory as they got maximum points from eight games.