Rooney double as 5-goal England find touch

(CNN) -- Wayne Rooney led the way with two goals as England ultimately ran riot against Kazakhstan at Wembley with a 5-1 win to stay firmly on course for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

There was an added bonus when Group 6 rivals Ukraine and Croatia battled out a goalless draw.

It took 52 minutes for Fabio Capello's England to open the scoring after a frustrating first half but chances came thick and fast in the closing stages as Kazakhstan's commitment to the cause finally caught up with them.

Skipper Rio Ferdinand made the all-important breakthrough with a header and an Alexandr Kuchma own goal then put England in control.

Zhambyl Kukeyev reduced the arrears following an awful error by Ashley Cole before Rooney's double blast and a late effort from substitute Jermain Defoe gave a flattering look to the scoreline.

It was the first time England had scored five goals in a World Cup qualifier since their memorable win in Germany five years ago and follows their 4-1 victory in Croatia.

Group leaders England have maximum points from their first three qualifying matches ahead of Wednesday's game at Belarus.

"We knew we had to be patient," said Rooney, who has now scored five goals in four games, including three in three for Manchester United. "We know we can play better but the result was the most important today to keep putting the points on the board."

It had threatened to be a frustrating night for ther fans in Capello's first competitive home game until England finally found their scoring touch.

Second half substitute Shaun Wright-Phillips was involved in the build-up to the opener when he forced a corner. Frank Lampard sent over the set piece and Ferdinand was waiting at the back post to find the empty net.

England had enjoyed a let-off within minutes of the second half with Nusserbayev guilty of a glaring miss and they had another escape a minute after scoring when the same player saw his well-hit strike palmed around the post unconvincingly by David James

Lampard's free-kick from the left led to Kuchma nodding beyond his own keeper under pressure from Rooney after 64 minutes, but Cole's aberration four minutes later again left questions.

The fans could finally relax on 76 when Wes Brown crossed for Rooney to powerfully head home a third.

Rooney was on target again with number four from a tight angle following a goalmouth scramble and substitute Jermain Defoe added an emphatic finishing touch to the night following Heskey's pass.

Ferdinand was unhappy that England fans jeered Cole after his blunder.

"It's disappointing," he said. "When any player makes a mistake all you want to do is get behind him and gee him up and make sure with his next touch that he gets his confidence back and plays himself back into the game.

"It doesn't help when the fans are booing one of their own players. Hopefully the people have gone and may feel a bit ashamed of themselves.

"I thought Ashley played well today. There was that one blip that he made but everyone makes mistakes and you've got to get on with it."

In Kharkiv, Ukraine, who like England had started with two wins, dominated possession in the first half, and AC Milan forward Andriy Shevchenko was denied repeatedly by Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa.

Croatia, beaten 4-1 by England in their previous qualifier, improved after the break and striker Ivica Olic struck the crossbar with a 50th-minute header from a corner.

Luka Modric had a chance for a winner in the 81st, but Andriy Pyatov made a fingertip save to turn back his effort.