England had enjoyed one of their worst moments two years ago when beaten by the Croats at Wembley which saw them lose out on the Euro 2008 finals at their rivals expense.
But Italian Fabio Capello has rebuilt their morale and self-belief to such an extent they totally outclassed pretty much the same Croat side.
Elsewhere, 2006 World Cup finalists France and the team they beat in the semi-finals Portugal looked to be on safer ground for qualifying as the French drew 1-1 away at Group Seven leaders Serbia despite playing most of the match down with 10 players - goalkeeper Hugo Lloris getting his marching orders.
Portugal gained a much needed victory over Hungary in Budapest with Pepe getting their goal in the ninth minute - and putting them in even with a chance of winning Group One with two matches remaining.
The Group Four dogfight between 2006 semi-finalists Germany and Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia is all set for a mouthwatering potential tabletopping decider in Moscow on October 10 after both were comfortable winners.
Germany took care of Azerbaijan as expected with a 4-0 win - Miroslav Klose scoring a brace - while Russia were briefly drawing 1-1 with Wales before running out 3-1 winners in Cardiff to remain a point beihnd the Germans.
World champions Italy took a giant step towards South Africa beating Bulgaria 2-0.
Fabio Grosso, who scored the winning penalty in the 2006 shootout, got their first goal with the result also doing second-placed Republic of Ireland a huge favour as they lead the Bulgarians by five points for the runners-up spot.
England´s joy will be Croatia´s pain and they are not even assured of securing second place and a play-off place as Ukraine drew 0-0 with Belarus and are now two points behind the Croats but with two games to play.
Croatia have just one match left.
France´s result relied on a gutsy effort in the hostile atmosphere of the Marakana Stadium in Belgrade as captain Thierry Henry levelled in the first-half with his 50th international goal in reply to Nenad Milijas´ ninth-minute penalty.
France, though, are four points clear in second of Austria, who drew 1-1 away in Romania, whose desperate home form has cost them dearly with just two points from a possible 12 this campaign.
Portugal may still be outside the top two but Denmark being held 1-1 in Albania and Sweden beating Malta, only thanks to an 81st minute own-goal, sees them just two points off second and five off the Danes with two games to go.
Slovakia look the likeliest winners of Group Three as they won 2-0 in impressive style in Northern Ireland meaning their neighbours the Czech Republic can only hope at best for the runners-up spot.
The Czechs won 7-0 at home to minnows San Marino but it was more memorable for the return of playmaker Tomas Rosicky after 20 months out with injury.
Armenia grabbed their first win of the campaign beating former European finalists and 1986 World Cup semi-finalists Belgium 2-1 in Yerevan in Group Five leading to the resignation of coach Frankie Vercauteren.
SOUTH AMERICA: Maradona´s woes deepen after Paraguay defeat
The chances of two-time World Cup champions Argentina failing to make the World Cup finals for the first time since 1970 shortened on Wednesday as they were beaten 1-0 by Paraguay in Asuncion which saw the victors reach their eighth finals.
The defeat will inevitably raise further questions over the stewardship of coach Diego Maradona - an Argentinian playing icon for his inspiring them to the 1986 trophy and to the 1990 final - as the Argentinians slipped to fifth in the table with just two matches remaining to seal one of the two remaining automatic qualifying places.
However, despite having individual talents on the pitch such as Lionel Messi, Maradona also either left out of the squad entirely or deigned not to put on the bench Lisandro Lopez, Esteban Cambiasso and Walter Samuel to name but three of several.
Instead he had opted to put on the bench 35-year-old striker Martin Palermo - who won the last of his seven caps in 2000 and professed to be lost for words when he heard of his selection - and 36-year-old central defender Rolando Schiavi, who went even further on hearing of his selection by phoning Maradona to ask if it was a hoax.
However, Maradona refused to accept that he had made any mistakes and went on the attack against his critics.
"I am not afraid of criticism. I am afraid of nobody. I am doing my job, I have my team and I am going to go forward," said Maradona, who has overseen four defeats in his six World Cup qualifiers since taking over.
"Since I have been 15-years-old, I have been scared of nobody. Now I am 48 and I am going to continue to battle with them (the press)," added Maradona, whose side face a home game against tailenders Peru and then a daunting away trip to Uruguay in October.
Ironically the two substitutes almost combined to grab an unlikely point - the Argentinians task made harder by the 53rd minute sending-off of veteran midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron - in the dying minutes but Schiavi could not quite get his outstretched boot to Palermo´s downward header.
Paraguay deserved their victory with a scintillating first-half display capped by a stunning goal from Nelson Valdes, who played despite a nagging knee injury.
Earlier Argentina had slipped to fifth because Ecuador had beaten Bolivia 3-1 in La Paz.
Ecuador´s victory - which included a goal by Manchester United´s big summer signing Antonio Valencia - sees them edge closer to a third successive place at the World Cup finals.
Chile were unable to join Paraguay in the finals as they lost 4-2 away to already qualified Brazil, thanks largely to a hat-trick by the rarely used 25-year-old Villarreal striker Nilmar.
The Chileans - seeking a first appearance at the finals since 1998 - had pulled themselves back from 2-0 down to 2-2, thanks to a double from Humberto Suazo.
However, Nilmar struck twice to end Chile´s hopes of bringing to an end Brazil´s proud record of never losing a home World Cup tie and their 35-year-old unbeaten home record in competitive matches.
The one good piece of news for Argentina was that Uruguay beat Colombia 3-1 in Montevideo.
Had Colombia won they too would have moved above Argentina, but were unable to gain their first away win of the series while Uruguay prevailed after a run of four matches without a win.
In a fiery encounter both sides had one player sent-off, Uruguay´s Carlos Valdes in the 30th minute when they were leading 1-0. The visitors were also reduced to 10-men when striker Teofilio Gutierrez was red carded for deliberate handball at the start of the second-half.
Uruguay wrapped up victory in the 88th minute largely thanks to the persistence of Atletico Madrid star Diego Forlan as he chased what seemed a lost cause when a shot was deflected and was heading out.
However, the veteran striker got to the ball and cut it back inside for Sebastian Eguren to rifle the ball home and rub salt into Colombia´s wounds as his goal was the winner against the same opponents earlier in the campaign in what remains the Uruguayans sole away victory.
Uruguay´s win sees them climb above Colombia into sixth, a point behind Argentina.
Venezuela, the only South American side never to appear at a World Cup finals, also moved to a point of Argentina with a fine 3-1 home win over bottom side Peru.
CONCACAF: USA, Mexico close in on World Cup berths, Trinidad eliminated
The United States and Mexico closed in on World Cup berths Wednesday, while Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated and Costa Rica suffered a costly defeat in the North and Central America and Caribbean zone.
In Port of Spain, Ricardo Clark´s 62nd-minute goal lifted the United States to a 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, putting the USA atop the six-nation final-round group with 16 points with two matches remaining.
The defeat spelled the end of Trinidad and Tobago´s hopes, as they remained mired at the bottom of the table with five points.
The Americans gained three needed points thanks to a powerful blast from Clark, which eluded the outstretched hands of Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Clayton Ince.
"For us it was a very important three points," USA coach Bob Bradley said after his team´s first away victory of the round. "We felt that it was well earned because tonight was a difficult game.
"A lot of credit goes to Trinidad and Tobago. I felt they put a great effort out tonight and made it very hard," Bradley said.
The day started with the top four teams - Honduras, the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica - separated by just one point.
Mexico, who had made a stuttering start to the final round, continued their late surge with a 1-0 victory over Honduras at Azteca Stadium.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco´s penalty in the 75th minute gave Mexico their fourth straight victory and 15 points, while Honduras remained on 13 points - now in third place, one point ahead of Costa Rica.
Blanco took the penalty after Giovanni Dos Santos, racing into the area behind the ball, was brought down by Maynor Figueroa.
Mexico had dominated the possession in the first half, holding the ball for long periods, dictating the pace and peppering Honduras goalkeeper Noal Valladeras with long-range shots.
Mexico had a scoring chance late in the first half, when Carlos Salcido´s cross found Miguel Sabah in front of the goal, but Sabah´s header went wide.
El Salvador, fighting to avoid elimination, defeated Costa Rica 1-0 in San Salvador, a victory that kept El Salvador alive with eight points.
Three countries from the region advance directly to the World Cup finals in South Africa, while the fourth-placed team plays off for a berth against the fifth-placed team from South America.
Qualifying concludes in October, with matches on October 10 and 14.
On October 10, Honduras host the United States, Mexico host El Salvador and Costa Rica host Trinidad and Tobago.
On October 14, El Salvador host Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago host Mexico, and the United States are at home to Costa Rica in Washington.
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