If there was any doubt before hand about how good a tournament Wayne Rooney has had, there certainly isn't now. England got the result they wanted against Croatia to secure themselves a place in the quarter-finals against Portugal, but it is the eighteen year old who is making this tournament his own. He scored two on the night, and now has four for the competition as a whole.
All the talk prior to the match was of the exploits of Rooney. The player dubbed 'Little Elephant' has easily been England's finest performer in this competition and he had the hopes of a nation resting on his ample shoulders after his fine performance against France and a brace against Switzerland.
To see one so young shine is always a joy, but you have to wonder when England will learn from pinning all their hopes on the ones so young. You only have to remember how pear shaped a certain Paul Gascoigne's career went post Italia 90. After his performances in Italy Gascoigne was seen as the future of the English game and the player that they would build their side around. But Gazza was to implode under the pressure and instead sustained a series of gruesome injuries that meant he never quite fulfilled his potential. Gascoigne's fate is one Rooney could learn from, and if Rooney needed another example of a player that has dulled after much expectation followed an explosive start, he need only look a few yards across the pitch to his international striking partner, Michael Owen.
The situation in Group B meant that England needed only a draw to qualify for the quarter-finals. Croatia, on the other hand, needed the victory to progress to the latter stages. Those chances were given a huge boost in the fifth minute when Croatia shocked Sven-Goran Erickson's men by taking the lead. Much has been said about England's inability to defend at set pieces and, yet again, they looked flat-footed as Kovac scored the vital goal.
The ball was swung in from the far side by Rapaic, causing much panic in the England back line. In the melee Cole flapped a pass back towards his own goal, James managed to pull off a save and save his full-backs blushes, but his clearance only reached the aforementioned Kovac who stabbed home.
The form of Dado Prso is of more than a passing interest for all of us Bears and he nearly added to that clinical strike against France in the 37th minute when he pulled of a good save from David James with an effort from outside the box as the Croats looked to increase their lead against a rather nervous looking England side.
It was going to take something special to get England back into it and when they did manage to claim parity it came from an unlikely source. The form of Michael Owen - or lack of it - has filled many column inches recently, as has the lack of goals in an England shirt from Paul Scholes, so it was with a hint of irony that both were involved in the equaliser.
A magnificent pass from Lampard released the Liverpool forward through on goal, his path and effort was blocked by Butina, who had rushed off his line to meet Owen, but the ball subsequently broke to Rooney who sent a delightful header into the path of Scholes who simply guided a header into the unguarded net.
Rooney's involvement in the goal added to his already burgeoning reputation, by half-time he had added to it again as England took the lead. Receiving the ball around twenty yards from goal, Rooney let fly with a thunderous effort that flew into the net. England had not only recovered the situation, but they had gone from sweating about their further participation to easy street in only six minutes.
Rooney's remarkable tournament makes you wonder at Everton's ability to keep a hold of a player who has shone so brightly at such a high standard. He added another goal to his tally when he was released by Michael Owen. Clean through, but with a lot to do, Rooney defied his years by sticking it home comfortably to give England that little bit of breathing space.
It was to be the 'Little Elephant's' last contribution as he was taken off to make way for Vassell to a thunderous ovation from his adoring audience. It seemed like it was job done, but a goal from Tudor gave the game a different look for a while as Croatia pushed for an equaliser.
There were a few uncomfortable moments for England at this point, but their two goal advantage was re-established in the 79th minute when Frank Lampard scored his second of the tournament.
With qualification guaranteed, it was all about whether they would go through as winners or runners up, when news came through that Thierry Henry had awakened at last and had opened his goalscoring account to help France to a 3-1 win over the Swiss it was confirmed that England will now face the hosts in Lisbon on Thursday, given the patchy form of Portugal in this tournament England must feel they have a chance of progressing. When you also take into account the form of Wayne Rooney, they must really fancy their chances.
Croatia: Butina, Simic (Srna 67), Robert Kovac (Mornar 45), Simunic, Zivkovic, Rosso, Tudor, Nico Kovac, Rapaic (Olic 55), Prso, Sokota.
Subs not used: Babic, Bjelica, Didulica, Klasnic, Leko, Neretljak, Tokic, Tomas, Vasilj.
Booked: Simic.
England: James, Gary Neville, Terry, Campbell, Ashley Cole, Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard (Phil Neville 84), Scholes (King 70), Owen, Rooney (Vassell 72).
Subs not used: Bridge, Butt, Carragher, Joe Cole, Dyer, Hargreaves, Heskey, Robinson, Walker.
Attendance: 63,000.
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy).