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England overcame a shaky start to move closer to the 2010 World Cup with a 4-0 win away to Kazakhstan, their sixth consecutive qualifying victory.

Despite the convincing look of the result, England did not play well, but they did not have to against moderate opponents who faded badly in the second half.

Gareth Barry and Emile Heskey scored late in the first period before Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, from the penalty spot, added more gloss to the scoreline.

Fabio Capello might have a 100 per cent record in group 6 qualifiers, but that does not mean his side are immune to playing badly.

They had previously endured sticky moments at home to Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and away to Belarus - conceding in each game - but the Italian has infused them with enough resolve to overcome their opponents where previous sides might have folded.

This match contained little to applaud from England, but that will scarcely matter if Capello's team pick up the handful of points now required to guarantee a place in South Africa next summer.

England lacked movement, invention, composure and basic technique, but still had more than enough to beat a side whose manager Bernd Storck compared them to an English conference side.

Yet there was an early scare reminiscent of the start against San Marino in 1993, where a calamitous Stuart Pearce back pass allowed Davide Gualtieri to score after just eight seconds.

The match had barely kicked off when Glen Johnson gave the ball away to Zhambyl Kukeyev, who raced clear down the left and crossed to an unmarked striker.

This time, however, Sergey Ostapenko failed to make proper contact with his shot, although that did little to ease Johnson's embarrassment.

The Portsmouth right-back, who has been linked with a return to his former club Chelsea, played nervously throughout the first half, squandering possession and needlessly thumping the ball out when some clear thinking would have seen him find a team-mate.

Soon after, Ostapenko had the ball in the net, heading in from a free-kick then wheeling away to celebrate wildly for a good 30 seconds before realising he had been flagged offside.

It made uncomfortable viewing for England fans, particularly given their own lack of chances at the other end.

Lampard and Rooney were wayward with long shots before Heskey fired a low effort that Alexandr Mokin did just enough to push onto the post.

There is a reason why Kazakhstan conceded more goals than Andorra in their first five matches, and their defensive frailties eventually emerged without much encouragement from England.

A 40th-minute corner from the England left was played short and returned to Steven Gerrard, who crossed deep to the unmarked Barry to plant a simple header past Mokin.

It was two in the first minute of stoppage time. A raking Gerrard pass took a wicked deflection, forcing Mokin to parry clear, but the ball fell to the feet of Heskey who sidefooted simply into the net.

It was the Aston Villa striker's second goal in as many England appearances, although his tally of seven from 53 caps hardly qualifies as prolific; this was his first goal in a competitive match since the 2002 World Cup.

The second half was barely any better. The Kazakhs, whose fitness levels have been criticised by Storck, tired badly but England seemed uninterested in running up the score.

Rooney eventually added a third in the 73rd minute. A Johnson cross bobbled up onto the Manchester United man's knee, forcing a superb save from Mokin. But the rebound came to Rooney, about whose overhead kick the goalkeeper could do nothing.

Four minutes later, Heskey was hauled down in the box and Lampard slammed the resultant penalty high into the net.

It might not have been scintillating stuff, but more of the same against Andorra on Wednesday will see England move to the brink of the World Cup.

Croatia 2-2 Ukraine

Croatia's grip on second place in slipped when they had to come from behind to grab a 2-2 draw with Ukraine.

Croatia remain second on 11 points from six but Belarus, third on nine points, and Ukraine, fourth on eight, each have a game in hand and look threatening.

Mladen Petric had given Croatia an early lead only for goals from Andriy Shevchenko and Olexiy Gai to put Ukraine in charge.

Croatia were looking lost before Mario Mandzukic's introduction as a substitute gave them the boost they needed.

Luka Modric played a one-two with Mandzukic on the edge of the box and his powerful shot took a deflection on its way in.

Petric and Modric both hit the frame of the goal as Croatia pressed for a winner.

Belarus 5-1 Andorra

Belarus thrashed lowly Andorra 5-1 to keep alive their hopes of reaching their first major finals.

Gennady Blizhyuk and Sergei Kornilenko each scored twice while Timofei Kalachyov added another to take the home team to their third win in five qualifying matches.

Ildefons Lima scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the final minute for the visitors, who remained rooted to the bottom of group six with zero points from six matches.

Alex Chick / Reuters