If Rooney was a national hero before this game against Croatia, it's hard to imagine just how frantic the next outbreak of Roonmania will be back home after he scored two superb goals in a stunning 4-2 victory.

It was a glorious night when England's star players all answered with aplomb the questions that have been asked of them over the last week.

Could Paul Scholes still score goals for England? Is Michael Owen still the player of old? Do England have the heart to cope with the big occasion.?

All those questions were answered in the best possible style, and Rooney provided the most eloquent answers of all.

Football lovers across the world wanted to know if his performance against Switzerland was a fluke. Could he do it under real scrutiny, under real pressure? And how would he cope with being a marked man - with Croatian defenders desperate to wind him up?

Well, the Everton man didn't disappoint. Not only did he play like a man possessed, winning tackles, beating players, dropping deep. But he rounded it off with a goal of such quality that it will surely be on the shortlist for goal of the tournament.

Both Michael Owen and Scholes played a part, setting up Rooney 20 yards out - but the 18-year-old did the rest himself with a ferocious rasping shot that fizzed into the net and sent the whole of England into rapture after 45 minutes.

Just five minutes earlier, Scholes had equalised an early goal from Niko Kovac, but it was destined to be Rooney's night.

The doubts about his quality and temperament were wiped out in a second, and the temperature on the Roonometer hit boiling point.

It will all but explode if he can continue this form into the quarter-finals, and when he added a second in the second half it put him top of the goalscoring charts at Euro 2004.

England Assistant coach Steve McClaren had urged his senior players to step up to the mark for this match - and they certainly got the message.

David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Gary Neville and Scholes got through a mountain of work and gave every ounce of energy they had to guide the Three Lions to the quarter-finals.

McClaren told his men that the knockout stage had already begun, and England played like it was a cup final.

Captain Beckham has talked before of his pride in leading out 11 Englishmen who he would trust with his life. And that team spirit and 100 per cent commitment was evident in every minute and every second of a pulsating game.

England had done well enough in Euro 2004 up to now, beating Switzerland and playing well against France before suffering a heartbreaking defeat. But they stepped up a gear against Croatia and it was a joy to watch with 14 heroes on show.

Let's start with Paul Scholes, the man who couldn't score for England and who hadn't hit the net in three years for his country.

The weight of that statistic must have been beginning to take its toll, but even when not playing at his best Scholes never stopped believing, never ducked the responsibility to take a chance.

His reward so nearly came after eight minutes against Croatia when he was put through on goal, 14 yards out, by a superb Rooney pass. He struck the ball across the keeper and with precision - but the ball cannoned off Tomislav Butina's legs to safety.

It seemed luck was still not on his side, but the Manchester United midfielder kept on trying. Sometimes his passes went astray, sometimes there were alarming tackles that missed the mark - but he never gave up.

He had another close-range effort after nine minutes and a header saved after 24 minutes. But then, miracle of miracles, it happened.

Owen's effort in the box was blocked, Rooney headed across goal and Scholes was there, gambling as always, to stoop and head home at the far post.

His celebrations in front of England fans in the corner of the Stadium of Light showed how much the goal meant to him and to a nation - and it was a moment the little midfielder will never forget.

At last, Paul Scholes - he scores goals.

His previous one for England had come way back in June 2001 against Greece, that's 29 international matches ago. But now the United man was on fire.

He thundered in a shot shortly after the break and then had another 20-yarder superbly saved after 50 minutes. Now this is the Paul Scholes we all remember.

Owen, too, deserves a mention. He has experienced national hysteria before, of course, and knows how quickly the public can chop and change their mind. But he too upped his performance against the Croats, looking far more like his old self. And his partnership with Rooney is now looking like dynamite.

It was Owen who superbly twisted and turned to spin a perfect through-ball for Rooney after 68 minutes - and the youngster didn't disappoint with his assured finish to put England 3-1 ahead..

But let's not forget the hard-workers in the team who also made this a night to remember.

David Beckham hasn't hit top form in Portugal yet but his contribution to the team is still immense. And Steven Gerrard, playing a deeper role for most of the game, got through enough work for three men.

England's defence, too, recovered from conceding a shaky early goal to stamp their authority on the game, none more so than Sol Campbell who was dominant in the air and organised the back-four with assurance. With Ashley Cole and Gary Neville piling up the wing and covering back just as quickly, and David James making three fine saves, England's defence is becoming a unit. Even if there were one or two creaky moments.

Let's not worry about that right now, though. Not when a the night was rounded off by a fantastic goal from another man who is growing in stature with every minute he plays for his country - Frank Lampard.

The midfielder who put us ahead against France finished this match with a trademark, low left-foot shot from the edge of the area that arrowed into the net and sealed a remarkable victory.

What a goal, what a night, what a team. And what a player we have in Rooney.