BBC Sport's coverage of the game saw a record 20.9m viewers tuning in, meaning that 72.4% of the British viewing public watched Rooney and teammates Paul Scholes and Frank Lampard see the Croatians off with four goals.
The 20.9m peak came in the last five minutes of the game, from 9.25pm to 9.30pm. The match average for the full 90 minutes was 18.1m, with an audience share of 68.6%.
Last Sunday's game against France, screened on ITV, drew a peak of 20.7m with an average of 17.6m viewers.
Both matches beat Euro 2000 figures, when the biggest home match drew 17.9m to see England beat Germany 1-0 in a game, which was broadcast on both ITV and the BBC.
The biggest TV audience in the last World Cup peaked at 15.6m, when England lost 2-1 to Brazil in the quarter finals.
Euro 96 saw England's biggest ever audience to date with 23.8m viewers tuning in to see a semi-final penalty shoot-out against Germany.
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