England gained sweet revenge over Croatia when they dealt them their first defeat at home in a competitive match last night. Not only did England beat Croatia to lead the table with maximum points from two matches so far, they also handed them a huge beating, with Theo Walcott scoring a hat trick to hand his country a 4-1 win over the off form Croatians. Wayne Rooney chipped in with the other goal as Fabio Capello and his players stuffed Slaven Bilic’s words back into his own mouth.

After the match, the Croatian manager again iterated his determination to stay with the national team and disinterest for the West Ham managerial vacancy. After this limp display from his players, the London club might have made the right choice in choosing Gianfranco Zola instead.