England v Croatia: Look back at previous meetings ahead of Wednesday's World Cup semi-final

Here we look back at the two countries’ past five competitive meetings.

June 21, 2004 – Euro 2004 group stage, Croatia 2 England 4

Wayne Rooney was given a standing ovation in Lisbon as England booked a place in the Euro 2004 quarter-finals against hosts Portugal in style. Rooney, then 18, scored twice after setting up Paul Scholes for the equaliser before Frank Lampard added a late fourth.

October 11, 2006 – Euro 2008 qualifier, Croatia 2 England 0

Eduardo headed the home side into a 61st-minute lead. Eight minutes later Gary Neville’s back-pass bobbled up after hitting a divot on the six-yard line as Robinson went to clear and the keeper watched in agony as the ball rolled in.

November 21, 2007 – Euro 2008 qualifier, England 2 Croatia 3

England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 earned McClaren his ‘Wally with the Brolly’ moniker and cost him his job. Croatia went 2-0 up after Scott Carson fumbled Nico Kranjcar’s and Ivica Olic slipped in a second. Frank Lampard pulled one back from the spot and Peter Crouch equalised, but Mladen Petric crashed home a 25-yard winner with 13 minutes left.

September 10, 2008 – World Cup qualifier, Croatia 1 England 4

This time it was England’s turn to gain sweet revenge as teenager Theo Walcott fired a brilliant hat-trick to inflict on Croatia their first home defeat in a competitive fixture. Wayne Rooney got the other goal.

September 9, 2009 – World Cup qualifier, England 5 Croatia 1

The Three Lions bandwagon under Fabio Capello rumbled on with a place at South Africa 2010 secured in emphatic fashion at Wembley. Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard both struck twice in either half and Eduardo’s token effort for Croatia was swiftly snuffed out when Wayne Rooney added a fifth.